


Golden

by Cerra101



Category: Kuroko no Basuke | Kuroko's Basketball
Genre: Alternate Universe - Siblings, Betrayal, Cheerleaders, Drama & Romance, F/F, F/M, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Protective Siblings, Siblings!Akakuro, Teikou Era, Trust, Trust Issues, Twins, boys, cheerleading, fem!GoM, female GOM
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2017-10-06
Packaged: 2018-03-10 22:51:27
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 19
Words: 31,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3306329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cerra101/pseuds/Cerra101
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Best Friends are supposed to stay together through thick and thin. Kuroko Tetsumi has always thought that no matter the problem her and her friends could get through it. How come the only thing to unravel their trust for each other were boys! (Fem!gem, Siblings! Akakuro)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

Kuroko's mom met Akashi's dad 17 years ago at a local coffee shop. They both didn't even spare a second glance at each other but Kuroko's mom did take an interest in him. Seeing the tall handsome red head with beautiful golden cat eyes, made something in her heart flutter. She was nervous on the inside but calm as always on the outside when he talked to her one day. That day changed both of their lives forever when two years later, they were expecting two beautiful twin girls. Seika and Tetsumi.

Akashi Seika was almost an exact replica of her father. Luscious long red hair that was a shade lighter than his. Bright ruby cat eyes shined with such a gleam it was captivating. Seika was polite and sophisticated acting like a princess she knew she was. When she was born, the maids awed at how she marveled a Chinese doll. Pale skin with rosy cheeks. Kuroko Tetsumi took her mother's name by choice feeling that she didn't belong with her father's. She looked like her mother. Pale and average with pale blue hair that was in a bob. Large blue eyes that observed everything around her. She was smaller than Seika and the two were deemed opposites. Tetsumi always used her manners and was very polite. The maids often lost her because of her lack of presence. She wasn't as smart as Seika but she was a smart student. Even though they were nothing a like they were always close.

Seika and Tetsumi shared the same room since they were children all the way to middle school. At that school, they became best friends with interesting people: Aomine Daiki, Murasakibara Atsuka, Midorima Shinahara, and Kise Ryouka. They were members of the Teiko cheerleaders club and were amazing but they never won anything. Seika soon joined them along with Tetsumi because she wanted to be with her. Tekio middle school won a lot of trophies but it was that year that they won some for cheerleading. Everyone was amazed at how perfect and how awe inspiring the girls were.

Tetsumi was happy with her friends but things started to change them.

It was a four letter word:

Boys.


	2. Chapter One

Tetsumi was walking towards the cafeteria when the bell rung for lunch. She was carrying a small lunch box that her mother packed for her. She was excited to be in the company of her friends since she hasn't seen them all day. When Tetsumi, entered the cafeteria she immediately saw the bright red hair of her twin sitting with the others. As she made her way to the table she saw, Murasakibara stuffing her face while holding her chop sticks wrong and Midorima was scowling at her. 

"You know your not supposed to eat like that." Midorima-san said fixing her glasses. Murasakibara-san put down her bowl and made a whiny sound.

"Mido-chin always nagging me." She said which caused Midorima-san huffed out in annoyance. Seika looking up and gave her a soft smile when she saw me. She sat beside her and began eating her lunch.

"Kurokocchi and Akashicchi always have such pretty lunches." Kise pouted and poked her mysterious looking meat. Aomine snorted and agreed.

"It's probably because they're servants made it for them." She said yawning loudly. Seika glared at her for not covering her mouth which Aomine just shrugged at.

"You can prepare your own lunches at home or maybe Tetsumi and I can bring you something." Seika said dapping her mouth with a napkin. Murasakibara stared at her in shock.

"Aka-chin, will bring food that looks like that?" She questioned while pointing at Tetsumi's lunch and stars appeared in her eyes when Seika nodded her head. Kise cheered and got head in the head with an empty cup by Midorima.

"Idiot, do you have to be so loud?

Everyone's looking over here now!" She said glancing around at the other people in the cafeteria. Kise rubbed her forehead and frowned.

"Midorimacchi, is so mean." She faked cried and tried to hug Tetsumi, who dodged her.

"Please do not put your snot on me, Kise-san."

Seika stood up and grabbed her lunch box. 

"Are you all finished? I would like for us to head to the roof for a while. It's getting crowded in here." She said.

The others nodded and followed after her. Tetsumi closed her lunch box and was following them when she noticed one of there senpais staring at their group. He looked awfully familiar. Where has she seen him before? She smiled softly when she saw his concentrated gaze on her twin. Tetsumi hurried after them and was hoping to tell her sister later on that she might have an admirer. On the roof, the sun was beaming down on them and Aomine had sprawled out like a cat.

"Ah~ this is the perfect place for a nap." She said closing her eyes. Kise rolled her eyes.

"Aominecchi's been asleep all day!" She exclaimed. The others nodded in agreement and Aomine just turned over on her side.

"Whatever." She said. 

"Aomine-san, if you lay in the sun any longer your going to get darker." Tetsumi said leaning against Seika's arm.

"Oi!"

"HAHAHAHHAHA! Kurokocchi, is so funny!" Kise laughed holding her stomach. Aomine gritted her teeth and tackled the blond in a head lock.

"Shut up!"

"You both have no home training." Midorima said holding a chocolate candy bar. Murasakibara hummed and her eyes widen when she saw it.

"Are you going to eat that?" She asked coming closer. Midorima glared at her.

"It's my lucky item for the day, nanodayo." She pushed up her glasses.

"Eh, let me eat it or I'll crush you." 

Murasakibara stood up and walked over to Midorima, who was trying to keep the giant away from her. Tetsumi smiled at her friends and looked at her twin who was reading a book. Seika's eyes found hers and she raised an eyebrow.

"Is there something wrong?" She asked. Tetsumi shook her head.

"I think that you have an admirer, onee-san." She replied. Kise gasped and broke out of Aomine's harsh grip before crawling over to them.

"Akashicchi, I didn't know someone liked you! Do you know who it is, Kurokocchi?"

"Yes but I am not sure yet. I would have to observe him more." Said Tetsumi. 

There was a loud cry and everyone looked over to see Murasakibara eating Midorima's lucky item. Midorima was laying on the ground talking about how she'll have bad luck all day.


	3. Chapter Two

After school, the gang met in the gym where there was chattering and squeaks of sneakers. Tetsumi opened the gym doors and saw the basketball players warming up. She was confused and wondered if her twin told her to go to wrong gym. Tetsumi looked around and saw Kise standing near the other gym exit. She walked over to her friend, who looked excited to see her.

"Kurokocchi, Akashicchi said that since the other gym where the basketball players practice had a pipe burst. So, they're in here for now." She said fixing her hair into a pony tail. Tetsumi nodded her head and watched the guy from in the cafeteria order around the first string. Ah, so it was someone familiar. Nijimura Shuuzou was the current captain of the basketball club and was admired a lot by others. He had a short temper but was easy to get along with.

"Kise-san, do you think that Nijimura-senpai has ever dated anyone here?" Tetsumi asked. Kise hummed and eyes the captain.

"I think so but not recently. Why?" Kise asked. Tetsumi shook her head and looked around for the others.

"Eh~, why are they in here?" Murasakibara appeared from the locker room in her gym clothes and a bag of potato chips.

"Murasakibaracchi, you were in there the whole time?" Kise asked. Murasakibara nodded her head.

"Mine-chin and Mido-chin are in there too~." She said.

"What about onee-san?" Tetsumi asked. Murasakibara shrugged and looked at the basketball players. Some were warming up while the others were staring at them in awe. Tetsumi shuffled uncomfortably at the attention but felt at ease when she saw her twin enter the gym. Seika's hair was in a long pony tail while her bangs were pushed to the side. She was wearing her gym shorts and a grey top while walking towards us. Murasakibara greeted her first and asked how were they going to practice if the boys were in the way.

"It's simple. We'll have one side of the gym and they'll have the other." Seika said. Just then, the captain of the basketball club came over. The gangs eyes all focused on him as he talked to Seika.

"I wanted to thank you again for letting us use the place for a while." Nijimura said giving her a small smile. Seika nodded her head.

"You have games coming up soon. I just did it so our school didn't lose just because you had no where to practice. I'm sure you would do the same for us, correct?" She said. Nijimura scratched the back of his neck.

"Well, of course. It's the right thing to do." Nijimura agreed and Tetsumi could hear his friends a few steps away laughing at him. Nijimura's face redden and he glared back at them. Seika hummed and turned her attention back to us with eyes narrowed. 

"Shouldn't you all be warming up? I won't stop practice for you if you pull something." She said. The three of them along with Aomine and Midorima, headed to the other side of the gym. Aomine mumbled something about how Seika could've just asked them to leave if she wanted to talk alone. Tetsumi jabbed her in her side causing her friend to yelp out in pain.

"Oi! What was that for? When did you even get there?" Aomine shouted angrily.

"You should learn to keep your comments to yourself, Aomine-san. You'll never know whose listening." Tetsumi said and began stretching her legs. Aomine rolled her eyes and went over by Murasakibara who was eating her chips. As Tetsumi stretched, she felt the presence of Kise easing toward her on the ground.

"Pst, Kurokocchi." Kise said looking around suspiciously to see if anyone saw them talking. 

"What is it?" Tetsumi asked her. Kise narrowed her eyes at Seika before looking at the bluenette.

"I think that one day Nijimura-senpai will confess." Kise whispered. Tetsumi eyes widen a bit but she did notice that the captain has been watching her sister lately. She could see the captains cool expression as he talked to her sister but she saw that the tip of his ears were red. If Seika noticed, she wasn't acting like it. Tetsumi wondered if her sister would ever accept Nijimura's feelings if he did confess. 

"And why is that, Ryouka?" Both of them turned around to see Seika standing there looking satisfied. Kise jumped in surprise.

"Akashicchi! Weren't you just over there?!" The blonde exclaimed. Seika gave her a look.

"Yes, then I walked over here. Tetsumi go get the others practice is about to start. Oh and Ryouka?" Seika announced.

"Yes?" Kise asked hesitatingly.

"You get to stand by Sachiko today." 

"What?!" Kise shouted knowing that Sachiko was a huge fan of hers and knew the other girl would most likey cling to her.

"You heard what I said." Seika responded before getting everyone into formation. Kise dragged her feet over by Sachiko, who beamed at her idol and hugged her tightly. 

"Alright everyone, let's get started!" Seika said standing in front. Tetsumi stood beside her sister and watched as she did their practice routine. Somewhere behind her, she could hear the others attempting to copy her. Kise would've did the moves if Sachiko wasn't staring at her and invading her personal space. Murasakibara was moving her legs but eventually stopped to eat her chips. And like always Aomine would do the moves once and sit down. Midorima was just watching everyone else as they failed. Akashi sighed heavily and turned to glare at the girls.

"Tetsumi, Do you think that I should make them do 25 crunches or make them run around the school five times." She said. Tetsumi looked at the other girls pondering over the question. The other cheerleaders stared wide eyed at her.

"Either way, you all will have some exercise today. Can't have you all slacking off without punishment." Seika continued.

"I think crunches would be best, Seika-san." Tetsumi told her twin, who nodded.

"Since it is hot outside, I think that is a wonderful idea. Now, 25 crunches each. If you slack off, I'll just have practice all day Saturday." Seika said. The other girls gasped.

"But Akashcchi, that new spy movie comes out that day!" Kise exclaimed and the other girls agreed. They've been waiting ages for that movie.

"Then I suggest you get started." The cheer captain said. The other girls spread out and began their punishment in a hurry. Midorima went over to her friend with Murasakibara right behind her.

"I do not feel good today but I will attempt these exercises." Midorima said while pushing up her glasses. Seika gave her a bland look.

"Shinahara, you're accuse is unreasonable. Seeing that you are just scared to move around because the basketball team is so close." Seika said writing down something on her clip board. Midorima's face turned red and she looked away.

"There's no way I'm scared of them!" She exclaimed. Murasakibara hummed and popped a chip in her mouth.

"Mido-chin is shy around boys." She said. Seika agreed and Midorima stalked away with red cheeks. Aomine was sitting beside Tetsumi as she finished her sixth crunch. 

"What are you doing this weekend, Tetsu?" She asked. Tetsumi sat up and blinked as if she remembered something.

"I have plans with onee-san." She said. Kise, sat up from wherever she was and crawled over to the two discreetly.

"What kind of plans?" She asked kind of sad that she couldn't go see the movie with her friend.

"Every other weekend, Onee-san and I go to the shopping district to see what's new." Tetsumi answered. 

"So, you guys bond by shopping?" Aomine asked. Tetsumi nodded. Kise's eyes widen and she grabbed onto Tetsumi's shoulder.

"Let us come with you! We haven't bonded in a while! It'll be fun , right Aominecchi?" The blonde said. Aomine shrugged.

"I guess but don't expect me to carry your bags like last time!" She said. 

"You know you like hanging out with me, Aominecchi!" Kise tackled her into a hug while Aomine tried to get away.

"O-oi! Let go of me!" The dark blue haired girl shouted causing Kise to laugh.

Across the gym, Nijimura was trying to watch his players do their drills. He knew that he should concentrate on his team but it was hard with so many girls a few feet away. His eyes kept drifting toward them but as soon as he did he would look back at his team. If you keep looking over there, they'll think your a creep. He thought to himself. Easier said than done. Nijimura was talking to his power forward when he heard her voice. It held so much authority and every word she said made his ears red. Concentrate on what your teammate is saying. He scowled at himself. The power forward was staring at him weirdly because of how hard he was grabbing the clipboard.

"Are you okay, captain?" He asked. Nijimura looked at him and rubbed the back of his neck.

"I'm fine. Anyway, you're accused from Saturday's practice for your appointment. But if your lying to me, I'll make you punishment harsh." He said. His teammate nodded his head before he went to the others. Nijimura sighed and noticed that one of his players weren't playing. Just standing there staring at the cheerleaders. Nijimura tsked before he hit the player upside the head.

"What do you think your doing?" He scowled the first year. Haizaki Shougo winced and rubbed the back of his head scowling.

"I didn't do anything!" He exclaimed.

"Your standing there staring at them! That's doing something!" Nijimura said while hoping he didn't look that obvious when he was watching them. 

"Eh, but they look so pretty. I wonder when I'm done practicing if one of them will join me in the showers." Haizaki said licking his thumb. Nijimura's scowl deepen even more before he grabbed his head while giving off a deadly aura.

"If you mess with them, I'll kill you." He said giving off a dark aura. Haizaki laughed nervously.

"I was just kidding!" He said trying to pry his captains hand off his head. Nijimura let him go and watched as Haizaki quickly departed somewhere behind him. He could only hope that that idiot wasn't going to do something stupid.


	4. Chapter Three

"Akashicchi and Kurokocchi,come with us to the convince store!" Kise yelled from across the school grounds. Tetsumi looked up and saw the blonde waving them over with the others. Seika turned her attention to their friends and looked over to Tetsumi.

"You can go if you want too." She said to her. Tetsumi frowned.

"What about you?" Tetsumi asked confused. She never went somewhere without his sister before and was kind of afraid of the idea. Seika placed her book in her bag and stood up from the table.

"Father has something planned for me and I don't want you to sit around by yourself. You don't have to stand by my side all the time, you know that right?" Seika said to her.

Tetsumi just stared at her sister as she walked away. She wanted to go after her because what if the "other one" comes out again. Tetsumi had already seen the terrible side of her sister and she didn't want to see it again. Kise yelled her name again and Tetsumi found herself walking over to her. Seika is right. I don't need to be at her side all the time. She thought to herself. Kise hugged her and started babbling on about what she was going to get. Murasakibara lead the way because of how hungry she said she was and Midorima trailed behind them scolding Kise about being so loud.

"How come Akashi didn't come along?" Aomine asked Tetsumi while stretching her back from practice. Akashi really worked them today. Tetsumi looked at her closest friend before looking in front of her.

"She had somethings to take care of. Out of everyone here, I'm surprised you actually care about Onee-san." Tetsumi said. Aomine glared at her and huffed out in annoyance. Kise laughed at her face.

"Aominecchi, I'm sure Akashicchi would be flattered to know you care." She said holding the convince door open for the others. Tetsumi looked around for something to get when her eyes landed on a vanilla ice cream bar just begging her to buy it. She brought something for Seika and headed outside with the others.

"Mhm, I should go buy another one." Murasakibara said to herself as she disappeared into the store to buy more snacks.

"I'm surprised she's not as big as a house yet." Midorima said eating her candy. The others nodded their head in agreement. The headed to a park bench and chatted away. Tetsumi enjoyed spending time with her friends but it would've been even better if her sister was there with them. She watched as Kise got into a wrestling match with Murasakibara because the blonde wanted some of her candy.

"That idiot should know not to mess with that giants food." Aomine tsked and shoved a handful of chips in her mouth. Midorima nodded her head in agreement.

"Kuroko, has Akashi been having any mood swings lately?" Midorima asked. Tetsumi looked over to her friend and furrowed her eyebrows.

"Not that I know of. Why do you ask?" Tetsumi said. Midorima shrugged.

"It's not like I cared, nanodayo." Midorima turned around to avoid eye contact.

"If Aka-chin did have her mood swings, wouldn't we notice them?" Murasakibara said with a mouth full of Kise's snacks while sitting on top of the blonde.

"Murasakibaraicchi, you're so heavy!" She cried out trying to push the other girl off of her.

"Yeah but most of the time she's good at hiding them." Tetsumi said ignoring the blonde girl. They settled into a comfortable silence until Tetsumi's cell phone ringed. She answered it seeing that it was her beloved sister and was about to greet her when a strangers voice spoke up. She listened intently to what the person was saying. Her eyes widen and she quickly ran out of the park with the others looking at her weird before they followed her.

Tetsumi dodged the people on the sidewalk and managed to get passed a group of teens, who almost made it impossible for her to get through. The rest of the girls were running after her trying to figure out what was wrong.

"Kurokocchi, slow down!" Kise yelled almost out of breathe. Tetsumi couldn't though. She couldn't bring herself to. Kuroko rounded the corner and saw the crowd of people gathering around the area. She pushed through the crowd and found a little boy with his bike crying on the sidewalk and a busted up limousine. It was completely totaled with another car smashed into the side. An ambulance was there lifting the drivers into the vehicle. Kuroko's eyes darted back and forth over the debris before she saw vivid red hair covering the ground. She rushed forward, getting passed the policemen and ran toward her sister. Seika was laying on the street with a peaceful expression covering her face. Her skin was bruised and cut by glass but she was still breathing. The other girls gasped behind the policemen seeing how hurt she was.

"Seika! You have to get up!" Tetsumi said with tears in her eyes. She gently shook her sisters shoulders and waited for her sister to wake up. A man came over holding Seika's phone and handed it to her.

"You must be Kuroko Tetsumi? You were in her emergency contacts. Would you come with us?" He asked as two people gently placed Akashi on a stretcher and lifting her up. Tetsumi nodded her head and made her way in to the ambulance with her sister while sending a sad smile to her friends.

"We'll be there soon!" Aomine hollered and the others nodded when the doors closed.

At the hospital, Akashi was rushed to the ICU while Kuroko waited in the waiting room. She hated the fact that she couldn't go in there and stay by her side. Tetsumi was sitting down with a bottle of water in her hands that she hasn't drinking from yet. Her mind was racing with so many thoughts. If Seika doesn't make it, father will definitely be sterner on her. If she doesn't make it, I won't have anyone to talk to any more. My best friend....would be....Tears fell down her cheeks and she shook her head. No. Seika will make it. She always win no matter the situation.

It's been 5 long hours since the gang had arrived. They got on the nearest train to get to the hospital. Kuroko was happy to see all of her friends there to support her and sister. Murasakibara was offering her some of her umaibo when the doctor showed up.

"Is there anyone here for Akashi Seika?" He asked and immediately the group of friends surrounded him asking questions.

"Is Akashi alright?!" Midorima asked.

"Is Akashi dying?!" Aomine said panicking.

"Is Akashicchi a mutant?!" Yelled Kise.

"Can I give Aka-chin some of my umaibo?" Murasakibara mumbled out. The doctor looked startled before he finally relaxed and answers their questions.

"Yes. No. What does that even mean?! And not yet." He said causing the girls to sigh happily. Kuroko stepped forward.

"What's her condition?" She asked fearing for the worst.

"Well, she has broken two ribs, fractured her knee, severely sprung her neck, and took a hard hit to the head." The doctor read off of his clipboard. The girls face paled at the news.

"I'm actually surprised that she's still stable. You can go see her now but only a few at a time. She's in room...156." The doctor said and was amazed at how fast they were already down the hall and onto the elevator.

Kuroko was standing in front of the door and took a deep breath before going inside. Midorima had suggested that she go first since Seika was her sister. The room was dark with the only light on was the one by her bed. It illuminated her face and created a peaceful feeling. Seika had a neck brace on along with a cast on her left leg. A band aid covered her right eye and one was wrapped around her head. She was resting peacefully as Kuroko gently pulled out a chair from the table and placed it beside the bed.

"I'm glad your okay." She said softly listening to the beeping of the heart monitor. It was soothing and terrifying in a way. If it stopped beating, Kuroko didn't know what she'll do.

"I should've been there. M-maybe I could've stopped that boy from riding in front of the car." Tears welled up in her eyes again. She reached out and held onto her sisters hand. If Kuroko knew that being away from her sister would cause this, she would've dragged Seika along to the convince store.

"Seika..."Kuroko hiccuped as she wiped her eyes.

"Tetsumi, you're so emotional today." She froze and looked up to see Seika staring at her. Kuroko gasped at the color of her eye. A beautiful golden color.

"You're-"

"Yes, Seika needs to rest for a while so I'm here. I hope you don't mind." The 'other' Seika said cutting her off.

"You're not supposed to be here." Kuroko said. Seika gave her a small smile.

"But aren't you glad that I am? It means that Seika is going to be okay and you have nothing to worry about." She said. Tetsumi frowned.

"I have everything to worry about since she is here. I have to do my best and take care of her." She said. Seika gave the tiniest of smiles and hummed.

"That's where you're wrong, Tetsumi. You don't understand what's going on in this beautiful head of hers. I'm the only one that can take care of her. Physically and mentally. She is my responsibility. You and that boy will not get in the way." Akashi said without batting an eye. Kuroko didn't know what to say to that. She was right though. Tetsumi didn't understand but that wouldn't stop her from trying. What boy was she talking about though? The door opened slowly and four heads popped in.

"We got some stuff for her since you were here." Murasakibara said holding a bag of what was definitely snacks. The four of them entered the room and Kise placed a huge bouquet of flowers by the window. Aomine had a hand full of get well cards. Midorima was carrying a huge 'get well' bear and declared that she didn't do it because she wanted to while blushing. And Murasakibara placed the sweets on the table even though knowing that Akashi probably wouldn't eat them. Kuroko looked at her sister again and noticed that she was asleep. A frown made its way to her face again.

"What's wrong, Tetsu?" Aomine asked. Kuroko shook her head.

"Nothing. Thank you all for getting all of this. You didn't have to." She said politely.

"Of course we did! Akashicchi is really important to all of us. If anything she's like another sister!" Kise said. Aomine rolled her eyes.

"Why would you want another one of those?" She said.

"You can never have too many sisters, Aominecchi." Kise shrugged her shoulders.

"Anyway, Kuroko, the doctor said that she'll be in here for about a week or more. Seeing that she has a lot of healing to do." Midorima said cleaning her glasses with the edge of her shirt. Kuroko nodded her head and gently squeezed her sisters hand.

"Get well soon, Onee-san."

It's been a whole week and school was really, really...bland. Kuroko never noticed how much her sisters presence covered the place until she wasn't there. She felt out of place because she'll usually be at Seika's side but she's not here. At least she's getting better though. Tetsumi was on her way to the roof when Nijimura called after her. Tetsumi stopped walking and was surprised that he spotted her so easily.

"What is it, Nijimura-sempai?" Kuroko asked when the senior stopped in front of her out of breathe.

"Hey....um... I was just wondering why Akashi hasn't been here the whole week. There's been rumors going around but I wanted to know from you what really happened." Nijimura rubbed the back of his neck and looked everywhere except at her.

"Seika is fine. There was an accident but she is doing much better." Tetsumi said smiling on the inside about how concern he was.

"If I may ask, how did you not know she wasn't here? You don't have any classes together and we didn't even eat in the cafeteria this whole week." Tetsumi said. Nijimura's ears redden a bit.

"Well, I was just looking for her and yeah.... I gotta go..." Nijimura turned around and speed walked down the hallway out of sight. Kuroko smiled softly at her sisters admirer and continued towards the roof.

"Kuroko, if you keep frowning like that your going to get wrinkles." Midorima said as Kuroko's frown deepened as they sat on the roof.

"What's wrong, Kuro-chin?" Murasakibara said stuffing chips into her mouth. Kuroko looked up from her spot by Aomine and tilted her head.

"What do you mean, Murasakibara-kun?" Kuroko asked confused.

"Kuro-chin, looks angry at the world." She said. Kise gasped loudly.

"Kurokocchi, you'll tell us if you're being bullied right!?" She exclaimed.

"Idiot! No one would mess with Tetsu as long as she has us!" Aomine said. The two of them got into an argument and Kuroko sighed.

"I was thinking about how I'm going to visit onee-san if we have practice after school. Practice is already draining me of energy and I don't know if I'll be able to go to the hospital." She said frowning even more. Midorima scoffed.

"That's simple. Skip practice." She said.

"But onee-san wouldn't like that." Kuroko stated.

"She won't but think about it, Kurokocchi. Akashicchi is more important." Kise said smiling. Kuroko smiled gently.

"You are right, Kise-kun. Your smart sometimes." Kuroko said. Kise's eyes widen and she began to sparkle.

"Kurokocchi, complimented me!" Kise said causing Aomine to throw her shoe at the blondes forehead.

"Not the face! Not the face!" Kise said. Kuroko gave her a dull look.

"I take back what I said." Kuroko said as she stood up.

"Wah!"


	5. Chapter Four

"It's good to see you again, Tetusmi." Kuroko closed the door behind her and glared at the person she was looking at. That golden eye looked at her as if it was happy with her response. Kuroko took her regular seat by her sister and took off her coat.

"It's a surprise to see you, Empress-san." Kuroko said. She started chuckling at the name.

"Why don't you call me, Seika or Onee-san? I am your big sister after all." Empress said. Kuroko narrowed her eyes.

"You're not Seika. She's nothing like you."

"Oh that's where you're wrong. She's everything like me. You'll see in due time, Tetusmi. Your not going to recognize her when I'm done." Empress said as that gold color soon faded to a startling bright red. Seika blinked confused and wiped her eye.

"Tetsumi, why didn't you wake me if you were here?" Seika said smiling gently. Kuroko sighed softly. This always happened. Whenever Empress leaves Seika would wake up like she was taking a nap. Kuroko didn't know if Seika knew Empress was taking over every time she blacked out. She probably didn't know that Empress even existed.

"I wanted you to get as much rest as possible. The faster you get better the faster I can have you back by my side." Kuroko said. Seika laughed softly before humming thoughtfully.

"Wasn't it the other way around?" She asked. Kuroko shook her head. Seika leaned back on her pillows and stared at her leg.

"They told me that it might take months for it to heal. A year maybe. It might not hurt when I step on it but that doesn't mean there's not any damage." Her voice was soft and almost in a whisper but Kuroko knew what she was talking about.

"I might not be able to cheer anymore this year."

She understood though. When the doctor suggested physical therapy and Kuroko sat in to watch, she could tell how much it hurt Seika to just stretch her leg. Seika didn't show it in her face but her left eye flashed gold before going back to red when she was in pain. Kuroko reached forward and grabbed her sister's hand.

"We'll make it through together." Kuroko said giving Seika's hand a gentle squeeze. Seika smiled before the hospital door opened to reveal someone rather important.

"Mother?" Seika said tilting her head to the side. It was unusual to see the small bluentte in the hospital. She wasn't able to come because she always managed to catch one of the sicknesses in the air. She had a white mask over her mouth but took it off when she closed the door.

"Seika, sweetie! Look at you!" Kuroko-san exclaimed. She rushed forward and checked her daughter temperature before kissing her forehead. Kuroko smiled softly because their mother were always so worried about their well being.

"Tetsumi, you told me she looked bad but not this bad!" Kuroko-san wrapped her arms tightly around her red headed daughter.

"Mother, please..!" Seika looked distraught in being the target of so much affection.

"She did look worse. I'm surprised to see you here." Kuroko said to her mother. Kuroko-san looked at her other daughter and smiled.

"Yes, your Father doesn't know that I'm here. He didn't want me to come because I might get sick but I just had to see my little baby. Oh, I should've brought something for you to eat. You lost some weight!" Kuroko-san said looking Seika up and down. Kuroko-San was usually the quiet and composed one like Tetsumi but she couldn't help but let her maternal side come out when her child was injured.

"Mother, I'm fine. Please leave before you get sick. I don't want you to get something contagious." Seika said. Kuroko-san frowned but nodded her head.

"I just wanted to see how you were doing. Tetsumi, come home soon. Seika get better or else your Father will throw a fit and we all don't want that." Kuroko-san pulled her mask back on before she left the room. Kuroko looked back at her sister who was staring at the door.

"What's wrong?" Kuroko asked.

"I don't deserve her for a mother. She is too kind. I don't deserve being shown affection." Seika looked back at her sister whose eye was slowly turning gold but not exactly.

"Don't say that! You deserve the best and only the best. What's bringing all of this out?" Kuroko insisted. She didn't like her sister thinking this way.

"I guess your right." Seika said as she closed her eye again. The door opened again and a doctor came in. He was a tall man with blonde hair that was swept to the side and hazel eyes. He greeted them before walking over to check the clipboard that was placed by the bed.

"How are you doing today, Akashi-san?" He asked flipping through the papers with narrowed eyes. Seika tilted her head to the side a bit to see his face.

"I'm well. Tell me, when do I leave this fine establishment?" She said as the doctor wrote something down.

"Tomorrow actually. You healed incredibly well." The doctor said. Seika let out a breathe.

"I could only imagine how much I've missed at school." She said pinching the bridge of her nose. Kuroko smiled softly before the doctor asked to speak with her outside. She got up and followed him wondering what the two of them had to discuss.

"I don't know if you know this or not but there is some activity in Akashi-san's brain. It is often found in multiple personality disorder but it's not exactly that. Actually its much more complex than normally." The doctor said. Kuroko's eyes widen and she took the paper the doctor handed to her.

"Please, give this to your parents so they can read through it. If they notice anything, please contact me." The doctor turned around and walked down the hallway making Kuroko stare after him. She looked down at the pamphlet and stuffed it in her bag. So the doctor did notice something. Kuroko was actually glad that she wasn't seeing things.

When Kuroko got home that day, she found her Mother on the phone with her mother and as usual her Father was locked up in his office. Kuroko-San waved her over and patted the seat beside her while finishing the conversation.

"Tetsumi, you look sick. Did you get a cold from the hospital?" She asked looking at her daughter.

"No, Mother there's something I need to tell you." Kuroko started but stop when she saw her Father standing at the door way holding a glass of wine. His red hair was tousled everywhere like he ran his hands through it all day. His sharp golden eyes eyes the two of us before he slowly made his way over.

"Tetsumi, your Coach called me earlier." Her Father said. Kuroko felt herself want to curl up on her Mother. Her Father always gave off such a powerful aura and Kuroko always wondered how her Mother was so at ease around him. The older Akashi stared her down but Kuroko did not budge.

"If it's about my grades, They should be ok for me to stay on the team." Kuroko said.

"No, it's not. It's about how you skipped practice. You know I don't stand for these activities but if you can't attend practice you might as well quit." Akashi said before heading back upstairs. Tetsumi felt that she was lost and sighed heavily. She really didn't like being on her father's bad side. Kuroko-san smiled softly at her daughter and told her that she should get washed up for dinner than for bed.

When Kuroko was in bed that night, she was staring at her sisters empty bed. A frown was on her face as she laid down.

"Why are you so upset? Seika's coming home tomorrow. You'll be able to get a goodnight's sleep now that she's better."

Kuroko closed her eyes and as she drifted off to sleep she couldn't help but be frighten of the bad feeling in her stomach.

"I'm glad your better, Aka-chin." Murasakibara said as the group of friends sat outside under the huge sakura tree. The girls were all over Akashi when Kuroko helped her sister by carrying her books. Akashi was on crutches but was happy to see her friends again.

"I'm glad, too. I can't wait to see all the new moves you thought of while I was out." Seika said noticing the girls faces fall. It was obvious they hadn't.

"Aren't you sad that you can't cheer anymore this year?" Aomine asked laying her head on her bookbag.

"Of course but there's nothing I can do but hope that you all won't let me down as captain." Akashi said taking a sip of the water their mother packed for her.

"We won't let you down, Akashicchi! We'll make you proud!" Kise said loudly. Midorima scoffed and straighten her shirt when the bell rung. The girls headed off to class while Kuroko helped her sister.

"We should've started walking before the bell rung." Akashi said as she hobbled to class. Kuroko made sure no one bumped into her sister by accident.

"I'll try to come early to help you to the gym after class. I don't want you to carry this all by yourself." Kuroko placed her sisters books on her desk and let her settle in before hugging the red head, surprising her. Seika had no idea why Tetsumi has been so carring but she didn't question it. She was probably worried about me. Seika thought to herself.

"Hurry off to class. I know it's on the opposite side of the school. You haven't been tardy all this year. Let's not start now." Seika said as Tetsumi let her go. Tetsumi said her goodbyes before quickly leaving the room.

~~~~~~

"Now, I want all of you to study for that test we have Monday. You all better not be tardy." The teacher said. Kuroko quickly packed her stuff before standing up to leave. She was just about to walk out when the teacher called her name.

"Is something wrong?" Kuroko asked. Her teacher looked at her for a minute before stacking some papers.

"Kuroko-san, you seem to be distracted during class and I wanted to make sure everything was alright at home." The teacher knew about how strict her father was and would always asked if something was going on when Tetsumi wasn't paying attention in class. Tetsumi knew that she couldn't tell her teacher about her sister and how Empress was showing up more. Her teacher would probably brush it off as nothing.

"Everything's fine but I really have to go." Kuroko said. She needed to help her sister get to the gym.

"Look I know that your probably scared of having your father find out but-" the teacher was interrupted when a few boys rushed pass the room laughing and rough housing.

"Did you see him throw that punch!?" One of the boys said while the others laughed.

"Yeah! He was all like boom pow!" Another said throwing punches in the air. The teacher got up and went to go question them.

"Yeah, Nijimura-senpai was amazing!" The third boy exclaimed. Kuroko's face whiten at the name.

"What are you three hollering about? Shouldn't you be getting home?" The teacher asked. The three boys turned around and looked as if they didn't know what to say.

"Um, we're going home now!" The first one said. The teacher gave them a look and told them to get going. She turned around to look at Tetsumi but she wasn't there.

"Huh? Where she go?!"  
~~~~~~  
"Excuse but could you tell me what happened with Nijimura-senpai?" Kuroko asked the three boys who jumped at finally noticing that she followed them.

"Oh? There was a fight in the courtyard. We don't know what it was about but Nijimura-senpai landed a good one on the other guy. Something about pushing a girl or something." The third one said to her but Kuroko was already gone to go look for her sister. If there was a fight out by the courtyard then surely people should still be there. Tetsumi knew that Nijimura wouldn't go getting in fights if it wasn't over someone important and she had an idea who.

When she made it to the courtyard it was empty but there were loud noise coming from the gym. She rushed over to the building and saw that Nijimura was yelling at the assistant principal with another guy with a black eye. She looked around the gym and saw Seika and the other cheerleaders sitting on the bleachers.

"Tetsumi? You're late." Akashi said as Tetsumi rushed over to her. She noticed that there was a bright red stain on Akashi's sweater sleeve.

"Tetsu, you missed the best thing ever! Nijimura-senpai was awesome." Aomine said looking like she was drunk on adrenaline. Kise nodded her head feverishly.

"Nijimura-senpai, was like a knight in shining armor-ssu! Kurokocchi, you should've seen how he defended Akashicchi!" She exclaimed. Kuroko looked back at her sister who was looking at no one in particular.

"Defended?" Kuroko asked in confusion. Murasakibara nodded her head lazily as she rest against Seika's shoulder.

"That guy ran into Aka-chin causing her to fall and didn't apologize. Niji-chin was holding Seika's books and told the guy to apologize but he didn't want to." She said.

"Today was a bad day for sagittarius so it makes since that something like this would happen." Midorima said holding a lion plushie.

"He shouldn't have gotten so upset. It wasn't a big deal." Akashi said as she watched Nijimura walk over to where they were sitting.

"But Akashicchi it is!" Kise said. Nijimura frowned deepened as he came to a stop in front of them.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Akashicchi said it wasn't a big deal about what happened!" Kise said to him. That made Nijimura scowl as he eyed the red head.

"What are you talking about? Of course it was a big deal. Your handicapped and he pushed you so hard you fell!" Nijimura said and ended up shouting in the end. Seika didn't say anything but gave him a look.

"You didn't have to go out of your way to defend me, Nijimura-senpai. I can take care of myself and myself alone. I don't need a hoodlum to do it for me." Kuroko gasped as she saw her sister's eye flash gold then back again. The others probably didn't notice it as they watched Nijimura clench his teeth and a deadly aura surrounded him. The others stared shockingly at her as the room temperature got ice cold. It was obvious that he didn't like the way Akashi was dismissing him and acting like what he did was for nothing.

"You know what, whatever. Next time you can just stay down and let other people walk all over you." He said before abruptly leaving the gym. It was quiet for a few minutes and not even the sound of Murasakibara eating her chips echoed through the air. Akashi blinked looking around confused before her eyes found her sister's.

"Tetsumi, I just noticed you. Come sit by me." Akashi said patting the seat that was being occupied beside her. Kuroko hesitantly moved forward and climbed the bleachers. She doesn't remember. Kuroko thought to herself. She doesn't know that she upset Nijimura. The others were confused as well. Even Aomine looked uncomfortable.

"Hey, where'd Nijimura go?" A couple of second years asked as they entered the gym. Akashi frowned and looked around.

"He must've left. I'm sure you'll be able to catch him." She said and the basketball players walked passed us trying to catch Nijimura. Haizaki gave the girls a sultry smile and Kuroko watched as Kise turned her nose up at him. Weird. She thought. The first time Kise ever denied someone's attention.

"What are you girls waiting for? Let's go practice!" The coach yelled from across the room. Everyone quickly got up except for Akashi and Kuroko.

"I'll be back." Kuroko said as she got up to go change. Akashi nodded her head.

"Of course. I'll just be here." Seika gave her a wistful smile.

Kuroko headed to the girls locker room and opened to the door to hear some of the girls whispering. She went unnoticed as usual and began to enter her locker number.

"It's weird how she thinks that she can do whatever she wants. I can't believe how Nijimura-sempai just let her talk to him like that." A girl whispered to her friend. A sick feeling appeared in Kuroko's stomach making her uncomfortable.

"Yeah, I bet just because her legs busted she's gonna boss people around to carry her stuff. I can't believe that Ruko actually pushed her like you said." The other girl laughed.

"Right? I was just pulling his leg but he actually did it. Now, Nijimura-senpai is going to be mad at him." The first girls voice got closer and Kuroko his behind her locker.

"Let's go so the coach doesn't comes." The two girls exited the locker room. Kuroko's eyes were wide and she clenched her first. Those girls planned this. Who would want to do such a thing? Tetsumi knew that her sister had people that didn't like the way she runs things but to attack Seika like that. Kuroko let out a breathe and changed her clothes. She would talk to Seika later.

After practicing, the coach told them all to gather around so they could talk. Kuroko took a deep breathe as she sat by her sister, who handed her a water bottle. The others looked as tired as she felt but obeyed the coach's order.

"We have a game coming up this Saturday and we all know that we have to perform our best to represent our boys and the school. I'm counting on everyone to be here bright and early that morning so we can load the buses. Akashi, is their anything you would like to add?" The coach said before looking at Seika.

"No ma'am, practice went as expected and I was very happy to know that everyone followed the routine I laid out before I was gone." Akashi said. The coach nodded her head approvingly before dismissing practice.

"Aw man, I can't find my hair tie." Murasakibara said as she packed her clothes. Kise dug through her purse and pulled out one.

"Here, you can use this Murasakibaracchi!" She said to the giant who thanked her before throwing her hair in a loose bun. Tetsumi smiled at them before looking at four of her closet friends. She glad they were the only ones left.

"I heard something earlier in the locker rooms when I came to change." She said to them. Aomine looked up from tying her shoes.

"What is it, Tetsu?" She asked catching the others attention.

"Two girls were talking about how they told Ruko-san to push Seika. I overheard them and didn't have to hide because they didn't notice my presence." She told her friends. The others gasped in shock before they all frowned.

"What kind of person would do that, Nanodayo!?"

"Idiots that's who!"

"I want to crush them."

"Poor Akashicchi is being bullied!"

Were the responses the four girls shouted. Although Kuroko was happy with their responses, she didn't want them to do anything rash. It would lead to even more problems.

"We can't do anything troublesome. If we did, it might upset Seika and right now she doesn't need this. I wanted to tell you all just in case something like this happens again. Please don't tell onee-san." Tetsumi said. They all nodded even though it irked them to not be able to do anything.

"Tetsumi? Daiki? Shinahara? Ryouka? Atsuka? Is everything alright?" Seika's voiced ranged from outside the door. The five girls quickly grabbed their stuff and headed out to find her leaning against the wall breathing heavily. Tetsumi was immediately by her side checking to see if she was okay.

"I'm fine. It's just that I never noticed how far the bleachers were to the locker rooms." Seika grabbed her clutches while Tetsumi grabbed her books and bag.

"You could've hurt yourself but I'll let it go for now. Let's head home." She said. The girls walked outside and were surprised when Seika offered them a ride in the limousine. She explained how it was getting dark and didn't want the girls to split up. Who could deny her orders?

Once everyone was safe at home, the two sisters were having dinner and the atmosphere as deadly. Akashi-san joined them for dinner for the first time in months and that's when Empress showed up. Tetsumi almost choked on her food when she got the imposter smiling at her.

"Tetsumi, don't do such disgusting things at the table." Her father scolded her. Tetsumi swallowed her food and nodded her head. He didn't even care that I could've chocked! She thought to herself. Thanks father.

"Father, I've been thinking that since my final days at Teiko are shortening down, that I would attend Rakuzan like you said. I've checked out the campus and its teams and it seems like a better choice for me." Seika said taking a sip of her water. Kuroko-san looked up confused and Tetsumi's faced matched her mother's.

"Rakuzan? I thought you and Tetsumi were going to that new school that's opening up soon. What happened to going to Seirin?" Kuroko-san asked.

"It seems that there was a change in plans. I would like to learn under a well developed school system instead of one that doesn't really have one. After all, Rakuzan has won many awards. It fits me quite well." Seika said to her mother. Kuroko-san looked at Akashi-san for help but he looked more than pleased with his daughter.

"As expected Seika has managed to exceed my expectations. Very well, I'll get you enrolled soon. Excuse me but I have work to finish." Akashi-san wiped her mouth and headed upstairs with their mother hurrying after him.

Tetsumi couldn't believe this. They promised that they would stick together. That they were going to always be within each other's reach. Now she's going at least three hours from where they stay. Empress was looking at her with a smug look on her face. She must've enjoyed having Tetsumi looking so helpless.

"Why?" Tetsumi asked. Empress' smirk grew.

"I told you that you and that boy weren't going to ruin her. I ,as Seika's personal guardian, am just looking out for her in this battle she's in." She said.

"That's not right! You can't do this." Tetsumi exclaimed. Empress was ruining everything Seika put together. It wasn't right. She didn't look annoyed when Tetsumi yelled at her. Instead, she was smiling.

"Oh, poor, Tetsumi. I can and I will. After all, the first bullets have already been fired. It's just the matter of time before the rest follow."


	6. Chapter Five

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be a bit OOC but meh. *shrugs*

Tetsumi was sitting in the dark on her bed. Her mind was everywhere and she didn't know what to do as Seika slept peacefully across the room. Tetsumi felt her eyes water again but she quickly wiped her eyes. She did enough crying in the bathroom when she was taking her shower. Tetsumi didn't know what Seika was feeling right now. She didn't know how complicated Empress is making her feel. Tetsumi sighed heavily and glanced at the picture beside her bed. It was a picture of her and Seika when they were about four years old. Tetsumi was standing there with a smile on her face as Seika clung to her sister because she almost fell. Their mother took the picture at the exact moment it happened so Seika's face was priceless.

We're not little kids anymore. Tetsumi thought to herself. They were on their way to high school in just a few months. I have to make sure Empress doesn't do anything else. But how can I do that when she always appeared when Seika's in pain. Tetsumi's eyes widen in shock. She couldn't believe she finally understand of why Empress appeared so suddenly. The accident must've triggered her to awaken. At dinner her leg must've been bothering her that's why they switched.

"I've got to stop Seika from hurting herself." Tetsumi whispered to herself. She took out her notebook from her book bag and began writing.

In the morning on their way to school, Seika was feeling really good. She had a long nights rest and her body felt refreshed. Tetsumi even made breakfast for her instead of having the cooks do it. Seika asked her sister what was the special occasion but she just shook her head. How unusual. Seika thought as she looked at her sister as Tetsumi checked something off in her notebook.

"I've prepared everything we're going to need tomorrow for the game." Was all Tetsumi said when Seika asked.

Tetsumi sighed again and almost jumped out of her skin when an arm draped itself over her shoulder. She looked up to see Aomine staring intently at the notebook.

"What's 'massages heal wounds' mean?" The taller girl asked. The bluenette saw Seika tilt her head at the question. Tetsumi closed her notebook and put it neatly in her bag.

"It's nothing you need to associate yourself with, Aomine-kun." She said. Aomine hummed and looked over to the group of guys that were around Nijimura. He was frowning and was obviously aggravated with the swarm of boys that wanted to know about the fight.

"I wish there were more interesting guys here. All of them are just so...blah." Aomine said looking bored with them already. Tetsumi rolled her eyes.

"I thought that you said you'd be the last person worrying about boys. You almost sound like Kise-kun." She said causing the other girl to fake gasp.

"Tetsu, your insults are getting too harsh! I'm nothing like Kise. Anyway, she's gonna be late today. Something about a modeling gig or something." Aomine yawned and gazed boringly at the other students.

"Ohayo, Aka-chin, Kuro-chin, Mine-chin~" the three girls turned around to see Murasakibara and Midorima walking over to them. Both of the girls hands were full. One with an arm full of snacks and another with a dictionary.

"Don't tell me your carrying that all day?" Akashi said. Midorima nodded her head.

"It's for good luck. Cancers are sixth today." She explained. The other girls looked at her like she was crazy but the bell rung causing them all to bid their goodbyes.

Tetsumi was nervous as she walked the halls after school. All day she had a nasty feeling in her stomach. Something bad was going to happen but she couldn't be sure to who. Tetsumi could guess though. She remembers how Nijimura ignored her sister's greetings at lunch. She remembers how lost Seika was but she covered it up fast enough. Tetsumi also remembers those two girls laughing obnoxiously when it happened. Being in middle school is absolutely tiring. She thought to herself as she went outside. Tetsumi smiled when she saw her sister standing underneath the Sakura tree with her back towards her.

"Seika! You're not supposed to be standing like that! Where are your crutches?" Tetsumi asked as she jogged over to her sister. Seika didn't move. She didn't even speak to acknowledge her sister's presence. Oh, no here comes that feeling again. Tetsumi thought to herself as she eased closer to her beloved sister. She peeked in front of her and gasped. Seika's eyes were wide like she was in shock and they were filled to the brim with tears. But they didn't fall, not yet. Tetsumi never seen her sister cry before and she felt incredibly angry. Who dares to draw out such an emotion in her sister? As Tetsumi looked ahead to find out what Seika was staring at. It took her a while because she didn't even see anything that was worthy of shedding tears over. Then she heard it. A girl's laugh that echoed against the school walls. Near the gym hidden in the empty shadows, was a girl and....and....

"Nijimura-senpai?" Tetsumi furrowed her eyebrows and anger she felt evaporated. Now, she was just confused. He liked Seika, right? So, why? Seika flinched when she uttered his name and seemed to have come out of whatever state she was in when Kise yelled their names. The cheerful blonde ran over to them with Aomine and the others right on her heels.

"Akashicchi, Kurokocchi, I haven't seen you guys all day! How's the leg?" Kise asked but frowned when she didn't get an answer.

"Hey, what's the matter?" Midorima asked still holding on to that dictionary like it was her life line.

Tetsumi didn't say anything but she did look back down at the gym. The other girls seemed to have gotten the hint and looked down the hill. Kise was the first one to react as the others just stood their shocked and confused.

"B-but how could this be!? I thought Nijimura-senpai liked Akashicchi!? The signs were all there-ssu!" Kise exclaimed.

"I don't like seeing Aka-chin sad." Murasakibara said and leaned down to gently stroke Seika's hair. The redhead jumped a bit before wiping her eyes feverishly.

"There, there~" Murasakibara murmured lazily.

"Don't worry, Akashi! There's plenty of fish in the sea!" Aomine said trying to cheer up the atmosphere. Seika glanced over to her and Aomine gave a shy smile. She did not like the look in her captains eyes.

"It's fine. I have many other admirers." Seika grabbed her crutches from off the ground and made her way towards the awaiting limousine.

"Yeah, but how many of them do you like back?" Tetsumi said after her. She noticed her sister's back tense up.

"C'mon, we gotta cheer up Akashicchi before tomorrow's game! Let's go! Let's go!" Kise said pushing the other girls towards the limousine.

They spent the night at Murasakibara's house and was greeted by four giants. All of them had the same purple hair but different personalities. It was interesting for the girls to see them after a long period of time. After a while of them settling in, one of them had Seika in a tight embrace.

"You poor soul! What cruel bastard would do this to you?" Akira, the youngest said. She was rocking Seika back and forth.

"Aki-chin, there's no need for that." Murasakibara said trying to get Seika out of her sister's hold. The other girls were laughing at the scene but Seika didn't say anything nor do anything.  
After the fiasco and dinner, the girls were asleep on futons in the living room even Murasakibara. Tetsumi was wide awake staring at her sister's back. Seika was silent the whole time and only responded to Murasakibara's parents. She could see her sister's body shaking. She knew that she was crying.

Tetsumi moved closer before sitting up and gently rubbed her back. That had a affect because Seika turned around and hugged her tightly around her stomach. Tetsumi was surprised but returned it anyway.

"I don't understand these emotions. They're terrible and I can't comprehend what's going in my mind." Seika said quietly. Her face was buried in her sister's stomach. Tetsumi almost laughed because she was ticklish but she held it in.

"I can see how much you liked him. You always got this look in your eye whenever you guys would talk. And he would rival it." Tetsumi said.

"I don't understand what happened. Did I say something to him to make him regret liking me? Did I talk to the wrong people? I don't know what I did, Tetsumi. But it hurts so much." Seika cried into her stomach and Tetsumi felt anger. She knew the cause of this. Empress was probably ecstatic that she managed to push Nijimura in the arms of another girl. How dare she do such a thing!? Tetsumi pushed her sister back and made her look at her.

"Everything will be fine. You got me and I'm going to do everything in my power to fix this mess. Whether you like it or not." She said with a determined look in her eyes. That last part was for Empress. Seika sniffled and laughed a bit.

"Usually, you'll be the one crying and I'm the one cheering you up." She said. Tetsumi smiled.

"I know. Now, let's get some sleep. We have a big day tomorrow." The two sisters settled down again and dozed off till morning.

When Tetsumi woke up, she was facing Kise. Now, she wouldn't have minded but when she saw a dark pink mark on the others girl's neck, she was shocked. Kise must've felt her staring because her eyes popped opened and she gave her a weak smile. Tetsumi's eyes darted towards Aomine as if asking if she knew and Kise quickly shook her head and crossed her fingers.

"Please?" She asked quietly. Tetsumi knew that when it came to Aomine, Kise wanted to try her best to impress the other girl even though she didn't have to. If anything, Aomine was her role model and she couldn't have her closet friend turn against her because of a stupid mistake. Tetsumi nodded her head and sat up ready for the day to end all ready.

"Girls, time to get ready! It's already 6!" Murasakibara's mom said coming into the living room to go to the kitchen to make breakfast. The girls woke up groggy and groaning before laughing at Akashi's and Kuroko's bed head. The sister's smiled at each other before grabbing their bags to change into their cheering uniforms.

"Alright girls, have a good performance!" Murasakibara's mom said as she dropped them off. Akashi thanked her for her hospitality and they all waved as she drove away. Tetsumi noticed her sister playing with the ends of her skirt when the basketball players turned to look at who just arrived. She gently nudged her sister's shoulder. Seika smiled slightly and they joined the other cheerleaders that were standing by the buses with the coaches who were doing a head count.

"Now, we have two whole hours with each other. That means that we have to get along or something close to getting along for a long time. No loud talking either because it's way to early for that." The couch said. And the girls nodded their heads. The basketball team was already piling into the bus and their coach could tell there wasn't going to be enough room.

The girls went onto the second bus and went to the backseats so that they could all sit together. Murasakibara sat in the middle Seika sat by her side, Kise was squashed between the window and Aomine but she didn't mind, Midorima took the other window seat, while Kuroko stood there and frowned. There was no room for her.

"I'll sit in the other sit with you if you want." Seika said. Kuroko shook her head and managed to squeeze herself between Aomine and Murasakibara. Surprisingly, it wasn't uncomfortable. She felt like if she fell asleep that there would be cushions on either side of her. A few seats were empty so the basketball coach let a few of his players fill them in. Tetsumi's eyes narrowed when she saw Njimura and Haizaki with two other boys make their way to the back where coincidentally there were open seats. Nijimura looked at them , more specifically Seika, but didn't say anything as he sat down in the seats in front of us. Haizaki was grinning ear to ear and Tetsumi saw Kise fidget in her seat. Great. Leave it to Kise to get involved with that idiot. Nijimura yanked Haizaki down in the seat next to him.

"Okay! Okay! You didn't have to yank so hard." Haizaki mumbled out rubbing his arm. Nijimura didn't say anything back.

The buses started moving and that's when things got interesting. It was unnaturally quiet when Murasakibara decided to shove her umaibo down Akashi's mouth. The redhead was shocked and tried to remove it but Murasakibara wouldn't let her.

"Shh, let the umaibo heal your broken heart~" she said. Kise snuffled back a laugh but couldn't contain it when Akashi's face was turning red.

"Murasakibara-san, please be gentle with her." Tetsumi said worrying that Empress might make an appearance. Akashi pushed away her hand and swallowed the sweets.

"Atsuka, you could've hurt me....but thank you." Seika said wiping her mouth. Murasakibara looked satisfied and opened another wrapper.

"Aka-chin, can you lean back a bit? I want to heal Mido-chin, too." The giant said easing forward.

"What!? Get that thing away from me!" Midorima said trying to find a way to escape but she was trapped. The umaibo ended up getting smashed against Midorima's glasses when they went over a bump. Her face was blank as the cream slid off of her glasses. The girls were silent as she grabbed them.

"You've gotten cream on my glasses but I guess it's alright....Nanodayolo." She said with a straight face. The five of them stared at her like she was an alien for making a joke like that. A soft giggling sound filled the back of the bus and they all looked at Seika, who was covering her mouth but the sound escaped anyway. Akashi Seika was laughing and Midorima felt proud that she embarrassed herself just so her friend could feel better.

Tetsumi and the others were in awe at the cute sounds her sister was making. She mentally checked off one of the things she needed to do in her head. Tetsumi looked at the seat in front of her and noticed that Nijimura was looking at Seika. The tips of his ears were red even though there was a scowl on his face. You won't be able to ignore her for long if she keep this up. Tetsumi thought to herself.

"I didn't know you were capable of making such jokes." Seika said calming down. Midorima blushed a little but started to clean the cream off of her glasses.

"I didn't do it to make you laugh."she mumbled out. The others laughed at their tsundere friend as she tried to redeem herself.

"Hey! What did I say about loud noises!?" Yelled the coach from the front seat causing them to stifle their laughter. The coach sighed but smiled anyway. She was happy that those girls were finally acting like teenagers.

Finally.


	7. Chapter Six

Nijimura was glaring out the window and suddenly had the urge to jump out of it. The things Seika said to him that day threw him off. He thought that he and Seika were getting closer but then she goes and says things that involved his past. He wanted to seriously say something's back but he wasn't that kind of person.

Instead, he left and went to go cool off for a bit. It irritated him because he had to clear his head if he wanted to talk to her again and then that girl basically ambushed him outside of the gym. Sure, she was cute but she didn't have anything on Seika. If anything, Nijimura wanted to be apart of Seika's life. Whether he was her friend....or something a tiny bit more. A best friend that she would come to in the time of need but she already had five of those. Maybe a boyfriend. A shiver ran down his spine at the mere thought of holding her. She was so tiny yet her presence was huge. He wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go. Nijimura was interrupted from his thoughts when he heard her laugh. So, this is what an Angels sound like? Nijimura had questioned himself. He couldn't resist the urge of looking back at her. Her eyes were closed and hers cheeks were a bit red. Seika was giggling and his heart clenched painfully. I've been ignoring her for a while now. He thought. Maybe it's time I apologize. But you were just doing what you thought was right. Nijimura scowled and turned around again to glare at the seat in front of him.

"Whoa, what did the seat ever do to you?" Haizaki said.

"I'm tired of pretending. I'm moving soon and if I don't settle things with Seika...." Nijimura ran a hand through his hair. He was definitely frustrated. Haizaki rolled his eyes.

"See, this is why I don't get involved with chicks like you do. It's a one time thing then their gone." He tsked.

"You're such a jerk. I can't believe the kind of girls you go after." Nijimura said. Haizaki didn't say anything but the look in his eyes were more than revealing. He was hiding something but Nijimura didn't want to know what.

Tetsumi stretched her back when they were finally at the school. It was bigger than the one back home and was very intimidating. The girls grabbed their bags before stumbling off the bus. A school representative showed up and lead them inside the school so they could get prepared. A few people were their already but the yeah still had at least 30 minutes left to get ready.

Seika didn't bring her crutches because her leg felt better but she knew she couldn't cheer just yet. In the girls locker room, the girls were sitting around waiting for the coach to finish talking to them. Seika sat by her sister and listened.

"Alright, this is our last game as a group. A few of you will be leaving after the exams. That means you gotta give it your all! Show these amateurs exactly what Teiko can do!" The coach said. The girls cheered. And Aomine looked like she was ready to go.

"Man, speeches like that gets me pumped!" She said grabbing her pom poms. The others laughed before heading out of the locker room. Seika lead the girls back to the gym and their were more people that had arrived, almost filling the seats. The crowd cheered when they saw them and the players. Seika was sitting on the bleachers closet to the cheerleading benches to watch what her team had in store.

"Ladies and gentlemens, boys and girls! Today we have two of the oldest schools having a show down! Mizami junior high against Teiko junior highschool!" The announcers voice echoed through the gym. The crowd cheered when the players came out. The cheerleaders were already doing what they had practice.

"Go, Teiko, Go! You either win or go home! Teiko is the best! The best at what we do! C'mon boys lets show 'em! Show them all our moves! Because we're gonna win this game! You can bet that on your shoes!" Chanted the cheerleaders. Seika smiled softly at watching her sister cheer for their school. If only this lasted forever. The crowd was now pumped and everyone was excited. When the cheerleaders were done, they piled on the bleachers where Seika was and watched in anticipation.

The boys where clearly well prepared for this game. Making clear shots and threes. Mizami were pretty powerful as week. Seika could tell that they were a team that focused on making steals and faking. The crowd cheered loudly when Mizami made a shot.

"It seems that we can clearly see whose favorite." Seika said and the others nodded.

"It would make sense though. This is their school." Tetsumi said watching one of their players get by with a beautiful fake.

"Oh, wow. Those guys are good!" Kise said as one of Mizami's players scored a three. Aomine huffed.

"If I was out there, they wouldn't be able to catch up!" She said.

"You always say that during games yet when someone gives you a  
the ball you complain about your back hurting." Midorima said.

"That was a one time thing!" Aomine insisted.

"It happened five times!" Midorima responded. Murasakibara unwrapped another snack and looked at them threateningly.

"I'll do it, again." She said and the two girls went quiet. Murasakibara was pleased with that reaction and took a bite out of her snack.

"Wow, Nijimura-senpai is so amazing!" Sachiko said from behind the girls. The other cheerleaders were watching how Nijimura took control as captain and lead his team.

"I wonder if he'll except my valentines gift!" Another girl said and suddenly they were all talking about him. Seika sighed heavily and rubbed her forehead.

"You'll be okay." Tetsumi said and Seika nodded.

During halftime, Seika decided that it was time for her to stop acting like a damsel in distress. She was a smart and intelligent girl. Seika got up and grabbed a water bottle out of her bag before making her way towards the basketball team. She could hear Tetsumi questioning where she was going but she was already half way there. Nijimura looked up from his bench covered in sweat and his eyes found hers. He felt his ears redden and ended up covering his head with a towel.

"I brought you a water bottle. I noticed that you didn't have one so I took the liberty of bringing one to you." Seika said holding out her peace offering. Nijimura took the bottle and took a huge sip of it.

"Thanks." He said trying to avoid eye contact but it was hard. So, hard to avoid those ruby red eyes staring at him so intensely.

"You're welcome and please don't push yourself too hard. You're going to win. You always do." She said. Nijimura nodded his head.

"I'll be cheering you on. Good luck." With a small smile, Seika made her way back towards the bleachers and the other girls cheered loudly. Tetsumi was surprised and happy at the same time. Her sister was truly amazing.

"4 seconds on the clock! Can they make it!?" The announcer said into his mike. The crowd was quiet as the ball soared through the air from Nijimura's fingertips. Everyone's eyes widen as the ball swished through the net warning Teiko a three pointer. The buzzer buzzed securing their win. The crowd cheered louder and they all had to admit that it was a good game. Tetsumi hopped up from her seat and helped gather up the empty water bottles before throwing them into the recycling bin.

"Hey, Kurokocchi, tell Akashicchi and the coach that I have to step out for a bit." Kise said with her phone against her ear when they were in the locker room. Tetsumi nodded her head and watched the blonde dash through the locker room door in a flash. The other girls were tired and sweaty but happy that they could finally throw in the towel for this year.

It was getting dark outside because the game ended up being longer than expected. The chilly night air chilled Tetsumi to her bones and she was about to head to the bus when their was yelling. Lots of yelling. Tetsumi said as she went down the steps and saw Aomine and Kise going at it. Haizaki was disappearing into the bus. Kise must've gotten caught. Tetsumi thought to herself as she watched the coach break the two girls apart.

"Aominecchi, if you just listen to what I have to say-"

"I have been! And you know what I keep hearing you say?! It was just a mistake! You make a mistake and you fix it! Not go do it again just because you can!" Aomine cut her off.

"B-but it was!" Kise insisted.

"Oh really?! Do you know how many times you've lied to me because of that asshole? We're supposed to be friends!"

"We are! It's just that we met and he introduced me to some people..."

"So, now you're a whore? Who haven't you slept with, huh? I bet if Akashi wasn't around you'll probably be all over Nijimura!" Aomine yelled. Tetsumi's eyes widen along with Kise's and she quickly interfered.

"Enough! You guys are best friends! You can't talk to each other like this." Tetsumi said but they ignored her. Kise looked heartbroken and tears filled her eyes as Aomine continued.

"Best friends are supposed to tell each other everything! Not lie and sneak behind each other's back. I should've known you were as fake as those nails you wear." Aomine shoved passed the crowd and hopped onto the bus. Kise sniffled and wiped her face, accidentally smearing her mascara. Seika and the others came out of the school and were shocked.

"What happened?" She asked her sister. Tetsumi told her she would be filled in later because the coach were demanding them to get on the buses before we were all left behind.

Kise didn't sit in the back with them. She sat in the front next to the coach who was still trying to figure out what was going on. Aomine had an ugly look on her usually passive face. If looks could kill, we'll all be dead now. The ride back to Teiko was silent. Nijimura did look back here a few times as if wondering if they were okay.

"Fucking boys." Aomine growled out angrily as she plugged in her ear phones and turned away from us. Seika sighed heavily and winced before grabbing her head.

"Are you okay?" Tetsumi asked. Akashi nodded.

"I think I just need to sleep. It's been a long day." Seika said settling down between Murasakibara and her sister.

"If we had a blanket this would be better." Tetsumi said as she leaned against her sister. The girls both jumped when something soft landed on their lap. Seika looked up to see that it was just Nijimura.

"Sorry about that but you can use my jacket. Think of it as a thank you for giving me something to drink." Nijimura turned around in his seat leaving two baffled girls staring at his chair.

"Ah, it's better than nothing." Tetsumi said pulling the jacket closer to them. Seika smiled and closed her eyes.

The two girls were woken up by the bus stopping and someone gently shaking them awake. They had managed to curl into one another while they were asleep and had the same look on their faces when they sat up straight. Aomine was already gone from the bus and so was Kise. Midorima stayed behind to wake the twins and Murasakibara had grabbed their bags.

"Come on. Let's go home." Midorima said. Tetsumi yawned softly and helped her sister stand up before they both wobbled down the aisle with sleep still fresh in their eyes. Nijimura was just getting into his parents car when he saw Seika exit the bus with his jacket on. A smile was on his face as he closed the door. He could always get the jacket back Monday.

"Onee-san, this way." Tetsumi said as she held onto her sister's hand. Whenever the twins were sleepy, Tetsumi and Seika always stumbled around. So, Tetsumi had to hold Seika's hand to keep her balanced. Midorima and Murasakibara smiled at the twins who barely made it to the cute little car of their mothers without assistance.

"Midorima, Murasakibara! You've both grown so much. I can't believe how long it's been since I've last seen you girls." Kuroko-san said as she helped Tetsumi into the car then Seika. Immediately, the two girls were knocked out and leaning against each other in the middle seat. Kuroko-san smiled at them before grabbing their bags from the other girls.

"It's nice to see you, too, Kuroko-san." Midorima said. Murasakibara yawned her greeting before walking over to her ride.

"We'll talk more later, have a goodnight." Kuroko-san closed the doors and started to drive home.

The mother of the famous twins, helped her little angels into bed after she made them take a quick shower. She kissed both of their heads before turning the lamp off and closing the door. Seika snuggled deeper into her duvet and sighed happily. She was so glad that they were home. A few minutes later, she felt the bed dip and someone curl up against her.

"Tetsumi?" Seika asked and got a small hum in response.

"It's warmer over here." Tetsumi said before the two of the passed out together.


	8. Chapter Seven

"Kise and Aomine quit the team." Midorima said Monday morning. Murasakibara, Tetsumi and Seika were sitting in their regular spot when Midorima arrived. The girls were quiet. Neither of them knew what to say.

"I saw Kise-san earlier. When I asked what happened with Aomine-san, she didn't say much. If anything, it weirded me out that Kise-san called her 'Aomine' and not 'Aominecchi'." Tetsumi said. Seika took a deep breathe. Tetsumi started to notice that she's been doing that a lot. Yesterday, the girls spend the day in the den watching movies and Seika kept having to take some medicine for her headaches. Tetsumi knew that Empress wasn't just leaving Seika alone. She told Tetsumi that the first bullets of this battle were already fired. That was about Nijimura and Akashi-sama enrolling Seika into Rakuzan. The she said that the other bullets followed. This must've been one of them.

"I think I need to go home early." Akashi said. The others looked at her confused.

"Tetsumi, can you help me to the nurse?" Seika asked clenching her head. Tetsumi hurried over to her sister's side and guided her to the nurses office after saying goodbye to the other girls.

"When have you started experiencing these headaches?" The nurse asked as she prepared a thermometer.

"I don't know. They would come randomly. It feels like something is pushing against my skull." Seika said as she opened her mouth for the nurse. As the nurse checked her temperature, Tetsumi was sitting in a chair beside the nurse bed. Her leg was bouncing as she thought of all the possibilities. She knew that Empress was trying to hurt Seika from the inside.

"And lately, I've been forgetting the littlest of things." Seika said when the thermometer was gone.

"Oh, goodness! Your temperature is over 100 Stay here while I go call your parents." The nurse said disappearing into her office. Seika laid down on the bed and closed her eyes. The throbbing pain she's been feeling was unimaginable.

"You need to go to class, Tetsumi. I'll be fine." Seika said softly. Tetsumi stood up and went over to her sister.

"Please be careful and when you get home take some medicine." She said kissing her sister's forehead. Seika hummed before she was out like a light. Tetsumi grabbed her book bag and headed out of the nurses.

During lunch, Kise was no where to be seen but Aomine was chilling out on the roof when Tetsumi got there. The other girl was curled into a ball in the sun with her headphones in. She seen to be asleep but Tetsumi knew better.

"I know your awake, Aomine-kun." Tetsumi said kicking the girls leg. Aomine opened her eyes and looked up. Her eyes were garden and a scowl was on her face.

"What do you want?" She said groggily.

"I wanted to see if you were okay. The others and I haven't seen you around." Tetsumi said sitting down next to her friend and opening up her bento.

"Why don't you go eat lunch with everyone else? I don't need you as my babysitter." Aomine turned over again. Tetsumi frowned but that didn't stop her from eating.

"I know you don't but I'm here because I want to be. I know Kise-kun hurt-"

"I don't even care. She can lie and sneak around with you guys but I'm done." Aomine said turning up her music even louder. Tetsumi sighed because she knew that Aomine was going to ignore what she had to say. If she talked to Kise, the blonde would probably make up an excuse to run away.

When Tetsumi got home, she felt exhausted. She was tired from worrying about Aomine, Kise, and Seika. Tetsumi greeted the maids and servants before walking up to her room. Seika was asleep with a wet towel on her forehead and Tetsumi could hear her breathing heavily.

"She's getting worse. I took her to the doctor and he says that it's just a fever but it feels like something more." Tetsumi turned around to see her mother there. She looked tired with bangs under her eyes and hair in a mess. She walked forward and pulled the blanket back, so that Seika wouldn't be hot.

"Your father is treating this as if Seika got a paper cut. It's like he didn't even cared when I told him that she was sick. All he told me was that I needed to make sure she gets better and that was the end of the conversation." Kuroko-san said softly. Tetsumi could tell that her mother's been crying.

"Mother, would you believe me if I told you that someone is hurting everyone that Seika cares about?" Tetsumi blurted out. Kuroko-san looked up confused.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Tetsumi debated on whether or not she should tell her mother about empress.

"Kuroko-san, Akashi-sama requested your appearance." A servant said from the door. Kuroko's mother looked drained as she passed her daughter and headed down the hall.

"She won't believe you." Seika's voice rang through the air. Tetsumi looked at her with wide eyes when she saw that one of Seika's eyes were golden.

"Did you miss me, Tetsumi?" Empress said as she sat up slowly. Tetsumi watched as she clenched her head.

"Oh, this was easier from the inside."

"Leave her alone." Tetsumi said.

"You know I won't but Seika's been rejecting me unknowingly. That's why she's been getting headaches. Whenever I tried to come out, she wouldn't let me." Empress confessed.

"That's good then. I wouldn't let you out either." Tetsumi stated.

"It's not good. If Seika refuses me then she's going to be in pain. After all we are the same person." Empress said to her.

"Shut up." Tetsumi said in a loud voice. Empress looked surprised but smiled.

"So, rude. Anyway, I'm almost done with my plan. I just came to see how your doing. And you better watch yourself. I'm not the only one trying to break you guys apart." Empress said. Tetsumi frowned.

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"I was just walking around the campus one day when I heard the juiciest rumor. Guess whose it about in your little circle." Empress was smiling but there was an evil glint in her eye. Tetsumi furrowed her eyebrows. It's not Aomine or Kise. Those two are already avoiding us and each other.

"What'd you do to Midorima-kun and Murasakibara-kun?" Tetsumi demanded.

"I didn't do anything! But you should regret being a cheerleader. A lot of the girls don't really like you because of how popular you are. Not to mention how pretty. They started spreading rumors all through out the school to get you all against each other." Empress started to laugh at the end. Tetsumi clenched her fist and took a deep breathe. Empress was lying. She had to be.

"One rumor in particular spread about your friends. I'm sure they'll find out tomorrow." Empress said before her eyes closed and she fell back onto the bed. Tetsumi didn't know what to do but she had to warn her friends.

She was too late. When Tetsumi called Murasakibara and Midorima that night, she was surprised to hear how hostile Murasakibara was towards her before she hung up on Tetsumi's face. Midorima wouldn't even answer her phone. What's the rumor? Tetsumi needed to know. Did it involve her? Who would go around telling lies to people?

Tetsumi covered her eyes and groaned. First, Aomine and Kise then Midorima and Murasakibara. All of her friends were breaking apart from each other. I have to find a way to stop this.

The next day, Tetsumi was sitting by herself in the courtyard. Seika was still bed ridden so she was at home. Tetsumi heard about the rumor as soon as she arrived. Apparently, Tetsumi was flirting with the guy that went to another school that Midorima liked. Midorima was told that and Murasakibara was being made fun of. Tetsumi saw what people wrote on her locker that only her friends knew. Murasakibara probably thought that the girls betrayed her and was now angry at everyone. Especially, Seika. They were all lies though but Tetsumi couldn't help that her friends were so gullible.

So, here she was. Sitting by herself and trying to contact her friends. She wanted to straighten this mess out as soon as possible. She looked up when she saw someone standing in front of her. It was Midorima and she did not look happy. Tetsumi was going to say something when Midorima took off her necklace and dropped it at her feet before turning around and walking away. Tetsumi picked up the necklace and noticed that it had their friendship ring on the chain. They won the prize at a festival a few years ago when they met.

Is it really over? Tetsumi thought to herself. After all the things we've been through together? It's over as soon as rumors spread? Did they all really trust each other that little? Tetsumi didn't know what to do but gather her stuff and headed to class. There was shouting in the halls and Tetsumi saw the principle holding back Aomine who looked like she was about to rip the other girls throats out. Tetsumi watched as the other girls laughed at her. As the principal dragged at very pissed off Aomine away, Tetsumi listened to what the other girls were saying.

"Someone has to put that girl on a leash. She acts just like a animal." One of the girls tsked.

"Acts like one!? She is one with that skin. I bet her mom abandoned her when she saw how ugly she was." Another girl said and they started to laugh.

"I don't get why people call them miracles. They're just a bunch of freakazoids. Have you seen what they look like standing all together?! It's like the circus came to town. " The other said. They started to laugh and the bell rung again indicating that class was starting. Tetsumi stared at the ground not believing her ears before heading to her classroom.

"These girls are the real monsters." She said to herself as she walked into her classroom.


	9. Chapter Eight

The school year went by quickly and Tetsumi was thankful. Today she would graduate and finally be done with all this drama. During the few months they had, all of her friends avoided each other. They all quit the team and Seika was confused on why. When she got back to school, she was glad to see her friends but was sadden when they ignored her. Murasakibara and Seika got into it but Seika let her go. Tetsumi could tell that her sister was confused on what was happening and how Aomine skipped school at least three times a week. It was finally over.

Tetsumi was treating herself to a vanilla milkshake at Maji burger when her phone rung. She was surprised to see that it was Kise. Kise's been avoiding all of them in fear that they would yell at her. Tetsumi flipped her phone open and pressed the call button.

"Hello?" She answered.

"Hi, Kurokocchi. I didn't see you at the graduation ceremony and I really wanted to talk to you." Kise said. It sounded like she was outside.

"Oh, I skipped it and decided to get a milkshake." Tetsumi told her while taking a sip of her treat.

"Oh! I'm on my way over there now. You're alone right?" Kise asked. She was worried that the other girls might've been there.

"Yes, I'm alone." Kise let out a breathe as if she was relieved and told her she was going to be there soon. Soon meaning right now. Kise came into the fast food restaurant wearing a pink and white dress. Her hair was curled and flowed down her back. Kise was so pretty it hurt.

"Kurokocchi, it's so good to see you." Kise said sliding into the booth across from her.

"You too, Kise-kun." Tetsumi said.

"I was in the neighborhood and thought that we could talk." Kise said. Tetsumi nodded her head and sipped on her milkshake.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Well, you're going to Seirin, right? And Akashicchi is going to Rakuzan. How are you coping with that?" Kise said. Tetsumi was sad that her sister was already moving out of town. Empress had appeared again when Nijimura had moved to America. It broke Seika's heart and Empress decided to take over during the rest of the school year. The only thing Empress was focused on was winning and proving to their father that she was perfection.

"Yes, it's going to be lonely without her but there's nothing I can do that's going to change her mind." Tetsumi knew that Empress was strict on Seika's life.

"I'm going to Kaijo because it's close to my house." Kise said. Not only that but she wanted to get far away from the others. It seemed like they all planned to go their separate ways.

"Their uniforms will suit you." Tetsumi said thinking about the all white cheerleader outfits with a touch of blue. Kise shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know if I want to cheer." She admitted. "As a model, I already get rumors spread about me as it is. I don't want to make that load heavier."

"I understand." Tetsumi was reluctant to cheer also.

"Oh! They have the side special! I'll be right back." Kise grabbed her purse and scored out of the booth to go to the register. Tetsumi sipped on her milkshake before her phone beeped. She opened it and saw that it was a text from her mother.

"It's getting dark. Be careful on your way home." The message said. Tetsumi closed her phone and waited for Kise to get back.

"You can have some if you want." Kise said as she popped a fry into her mouth.

"Thank you." Tetsumi picked a French fry and ate it. "So, have you spoken to the others?"

"No, I saw them at the ceremony but it was terrible. The girls that were sitting behind me were saying some rude things. I wanted to defend them but I figured that it would only make things worse." Kise sighed heavily. Tetsumi understood though. She did that once and it didn't turn out well.

Kise and Tetsumi chatted for a few hours before they decided to go separate ways. Tetsumi could admit that she was happy to see the blonde. It seemed like she was the only one who didn't hate her at the moment. She got home late and greeted her mother who was plaiting Seika's hair. Empress was surprisingly looking content as her mother ran her fingers through the long silky red locks of hair.

"Tetsumi, come join us. We're going to have girls night! Filled with movies and snacks. Go put on your night clothes and hurry back." Kuroko-san said. Tetsumi looked surprised but quickly did what she was told.

"Now, what movies do you guys want to watch? It has to be something we've never seen before." Their mother said as she flipped through Netflix. Kuroko looked up from the vanilla cake she was eating and noticed that Empress was staring at the picture on the wall. It was a picture of all of them when they were about ten years old. Tetsumi smiled at how big her cheeks were.

"Um, it doesn't matter. You can choose." Tetsumi said.

"Oh, I have the perfect one!" Kuroko-san said not noticing that one of her daughters was acting strange.

"Mother, are you upset that I'm leaving?" Empress said suddenly.

"Of course. You're just starting high school and I feel like your going away to college. I won't see you as much." Their mother said. Empress didn't say anything for a while.

"Do you think Father will miss me?" She asked. Tetsumi was lost on why Empress was acting this way. Kuroko-san hummed but didn't say anything. The silence was loud and clear though. Their mother didn't know.

Tetsumi was asleep when she felt some shaking her. She opened her eyes to see Seika glaring down at her.

"What do you want?" Tetsumi asked.

"Father has been hiding things. I want to know what it is." Empress said.

"It's none of our business. Go back to sleep." Tetsumi said closing her eyes only to be hit with a pillow.

"Aren't you just a tad bit interested in what he's hiding? Regardless if you come or not, I'm going to find out." Empress stood up and slowly headed upstairs. Tetsumi rolled her eyes and laid back down before curiosity got the best of her.

Tetsumi quickly followed Empress towards their fathers office. The door was locked but Empress somehow managed to unlock it with her hair pin. The door creaked opened and both girls stood there staring into the room.

"Close the door behind you." Empress said as they eased into the room. Tetsumi gently shut the door and looked around the office.

"I've never been in here before." Tetsumi said as she looked at the marbled statue of a Lion.

"Me either. Where do we start? There could be tons of information locked away in here." Empress said heading towards the desk. Papers were neatly stacked on top of it and they didn't really say much.

"This is just bills and deals for the company." Tetsumi said. Empress scowled and tried to open the desk drawer.

"That's how you know he's hiding something. Why is everything locked?" She said giving up on the drawer. Tetsumi shrugged and they both gasped when they heard the door open. Empress and Tetsumi quickly ran over to the couch and hid behind it. Someone came in awfully slow and went towards the desk. It was there father. He had the key to the drawer and had took something out of it. It was a file in a vanilla folder. Empress's eyes widen as if that's exactly what she was looking for. Their father froze and looked around the room causing the two girls to duck. When they heard the door close and a lock from the outside, that's when they knew he was gone.

"We need to get that folder." Empress said standing up once the coast was clear.

"You can get it yourself. I'm going to sleep before we get it no huge trouble." Tetsumi went over to the door and tried to unlock it.

"It only unlocks from the outside." Empress whispered. Tetsumi turned to her and glared. Empress shrugged and went over to the patio.

"The only way out is through here. You should be thankful that it's not far." She said. Tetsumi looked at her like she was crazy.

"Not far!? We're on the second floor. One wrong move and we're dead." She exclaimed.

"Or we could take the conveniently placed laundry chute." Empress said going over to the grey panel. Tetsumi nodded her head and went to open it.

"But what if-" Tetsumi didn't get to finish her sentence before Empress pushed her inside.

Great.

Tetsumi landed in a pill of clothes and groaned out when Empress landed on top of her.

"Ow, you're so heavy!" Tetsumi said pushing her off. Empress rolled her eyes.

"I weight less then you!" She exclaimed. Tetsumi got out of the pile of clothes and headed up the stairs. The stairs lead to the first floor and thankfully the door was unlocked. As the girls headed back to the living room, there mother was standing there.

"Where did you two go?" She asked them.

"Bathroom."

"Kitchen" the two girls said at the same time. Kuroko-san squinted at them but let it go before going back to sleep.

"Next time, you're doing this by yourself!" Tetsumi hissed out at Empress.


	10. Chapter Nine

"Welcome, to Seirin! We hope you have a wonderful year!" A teacher said to the kids as they walked onto campus. Tetsumi was nervous without a doubt but it couldn't be all that bad. Everyone seemed friendly enough. They already had clubs set up and people being interested in joining. I wonder if they had a cheer team. Tetsumi wondered and her curiosity was answered when the a sharp whistle filled the room.

"Alright girls! If anyone is interested in going our cheer team, the sign up table is over there by the fountain. Be sure to sign up!" A tall girl said standing on top of a chair. A few girls in the crowd started whispering before some of them went towards the fountain. Tetsumi had to resist the urge to sign up and walked forward, only to get in the way of someone. She gasped and quickly moved out of his path. That guys huge! She thought eyeing the redhead that walked passed her. He walked like he was the only one there as he made his way to the basketball club table. Basketball? There's no doubt that he would be a valuable player. Tetsumi could tell that he was.

The first day of school went by quickly with the same routine. They tell you the rules that you needed to know in each class before handing you a bunch of paper work. Tetsumi was walking passed the gymnasium when she saw the cheerleaders. They were running laps and some were stretching. It seemed like they were getting everyone into shape. Tetsumi wanted to go join them. She wanted to feel part of a team again but she didn't have the courage.

The sounds of balls dribbling caught her attention and she went over to the first gymnasium and saw that the basketball players were showing what they were made of. Tetsumi recognize the guy from this morning and watched as he dunked on another player. Amazing! Tetsumi thought. She never seen a player like him before. He played with so much animalistic power. It was so different. Ah, I know someone whose similar to him. Tetsumi thought to herself as she sat on the bench and waited. She didn't know what she was doing but when the clubs were over and no one was there, Tetsumi went into the gym.

It smelled like sweat and rubber but this was home. She practically grew up with it. I should probably stretch or something. I didn't do anything all summer so I must be out of shape. Tetsumi thought to herself. Tetsumi had changed into her gym clothes and started exercising. Seika would be mad if she started slacking. That thought caused her to scoff.

Seika hasn't been back for a few months now. Tetsumi didn't know if she would ever come back.

"1....2...3..." Tetsumi counted as she did her crunches. She was almost done when something bounced in the ground. She sat up quickly and turned towards the sound. The boy was standing there with a basketball in his hand staring in the gym intensely. As if he was trying to figure out where she was.

"Hello." Tetsumi said and as soon as she did the boy jumped and his eyes found hers.

"When did you get there!?" He demanded looking pale.

"I've been here the whole time." She says. The boy gave her a look before bouncing the ball again.

"Cheerleading practice ended a while ago." He said to her.

"So did basketball. I'm exercising. What's your excuse?" Tetsumi asked. He looked offended for a minute but covered it up with a scowl.

"Whatever, I'm leaving." He said bouncing the ball again and walking out the door.

Tetsumi assumed that she wouldn't see him again but she was wrong. He was sitting in front of her at Maji burger stuffing his face with a hamburger. How classy.

"You're following me." Tetsumi said. The boy choked and looked at her in shock. He swallowed his burger and glared at her.

"How the hell did I follow you when I'm the one who left first!?" He exclaimed. Tetsumi shrugged.

"Maybe your the type of guy to wait for his prey and stalk." She said.

"That's not even it!" He said.

"You're quite noisy. We are indoors please keep your voice down. People might assume that we're friends." Tetsumi sipped on her milk shake.

"Like I would want to be friends with someone like you." He growled out as he bit into another hamburger.

"Thank you for the compliment. You're very kind, Eyebrow-san." Tetsumi said.

"That's not my name!" Eyebrow-san exclaimed.

"I'm pretty sure it is. I've never seen someone with such luscious eyebrows that split like yours." Tetsumi commented. Eyebrow-san glared at her more.

"You act like you see it often." He said. Tetsumi shrugged.

"You don't know what I've seen, Eyebrow-san." She said. They sat there for a minute and Tetsumi watched as he ate his burgers. He was such an interesting person. There's no doubt that they would get along. Somehow, Eyebrow-san ended up walking her to the train station. Well, to the front gate to be exact.

"This is where we part, Eyebrow-san." Tetsumi stated as the train doors opened.

"Hey, my name is actually Kagami Taiga." He said as if making it clear that it wasn't Eyebrow-san.

"Kuroko Tetsumi." She said holding out her hand. Kagami shook it and Tetsumi was surprised how big his hands were competed to her tiny ones.

"I'll see you later." He said and the two went their separate ways.

Tetsumi smiled to herself because if she was a match maker she would pair him up with someone. Sadly, she's nothing of the sort.

The following month, Tetsumi decided to stay after school again but this time she sat in the bleachers watching the basketball team. No one noticed that she was there and they wouldn't until she makes herself known. Tetsumi nibbled on her granola bar as she watched their coach Riko give them the warm up. She was short with light brown hair that had two clips on her bangs. She was whistling a whistle indicating that practice was in session.

"You guys need to go faster! I got get all of you in shape! I have to get you guys ready to kick some butt in the winter cup!" She shouted. So, that's what Kagami was so excited about. For months and months, the boy had been talking about it. Kagami and Tetsumi had gotten to know each other better. The two of them were friends. Best friends, maybe? Tetsumi was just glad that this one didn't hate her guts.

"Excuse me but may I ask what is the Winter Cup?" Tetsumi asked Riko Aida, who turned to look at her before jumping.

"W-when did you get there?" She asked.

"A while." Tetsumi stated. Riko didn't look like she believed her but she didn't say anything else.

"The Winter Cup is a tournament that takes place before winter break. In which all of the schools compete in basketball for the title of the best team in Japan." Riko said. Tetsumi tilted her head. All the schools, huh?

"But this school just got built this year. Do you think it'll be unfair to go up against long reigning schools?" She asked. Riko shook her head.

"Our team is just as good as the others. We work just as hard!" She said blowing her whistle again.

"Interesting." Tetsumi went back to the bleachers and grabbed her bag when Kagami approached her.

"Hey, I didn't know that you were here." He said.

"I decided that if I watched your team practice, maybe then your team would change my mind." Tetsumi said.

"Oh? And what did you decide?" Kagami asked taking a sip of his water.

"I've decided that I would cheer again." Tetsumi said. Kagami almost did a spit take.

"You cheer!?" He exclaimed looking at her weird.

"Yes, I have been for a while now."

"Why'd you stop?" Kagami asked. Tetsumi furrowed her eyebrows before looking up at him again.

"Things changed. I'm going to go talk to the head coach over there." Tetsumi headed over to the door and walked over to the other gym. If she goes to the Winter Cup, there'll be a possibility that she would see the others. No matter how much her friends distrusted, Tetsumi wanted to be with all of them.

As she entered the gym, she saw the cheerleaders doing their practice routine. High jumpers and flyers. Tetsumi always wanted to be a flyer. The captain of the yeah was standing off to the side watching her team with a smile on her face. She had short black hair that let her green eyes stand out. She was taller than Tetsumi but only by a bit. Tetsumi headed over towards her knowing that they probably won't let her onto the team. Seeing as it's the middle of the year.

"What can I do for you?" She asked when Tetsumi stepped in front of her.

"I want to join the team." Tetsumi said to her. The captain raised an eyebrow and smiled.

"You know that spots are already filled considering that auditions ended?" She responded. Tetsumi nodded.

"I use to cheer at my old school but something's went awry."

"What school did you go to?" She asked.

"Teiko." Tetsumi said as if she was proud of it. The captains eyes widen and she blew her whistle.

"I've heard about that school and its squad. Everyone in the cheer vine knows about you girls." The captain said walking towards the coach indicating that she should follow.

"The cheer vine?" Tetsumi asked.

"Yeah! It's kinda like the grape vine. Where you know everything about anything and spread the news in the cheer community. Oh and by the way, I'm Arika Sekio." The coach respond.

"Kuroko Tetsumi." Tetsumi said.

"Hey coach! We got a new comer l! She wants to be a part of the squad." Sekio said. The coach looked Tetsumi up and down before smiling.

"Oh course! We're are going to end a replacement for one of our flyers. She's moving out of town. Do you think you can fill the position?" The coach asked.

"Of course." Tetsumi said nodding her head.

I'm coming, Seika.


	11. Chapter Ten

"C'mon Kuroko! Faster!" Sekio yelled from in front of her. They were outside running up the hill behind behind the school. Tetsumi was fine the first time but after the second she was ready to pass out.

"I can't go....anymore." She said as she crawled on the ground. The other girls in front of her agreed. Sekio sighed and jogged back down towards her.

"You can go as long as you try. You wanted to be a cheerleader, right? You wanted to be there cheering on our team at the winter cup? Well, get up and prove the other girls that your worthy of the spot." She said grabbing Tetsumi's hand off of the ground and pulling her up. Tetsumi panted heavily but followed Sekio up the hill. The sun was glaring down angrily at her as it set her skin on fire. Each breathe she took, Tetsumi felt her lungs burn and her legs wobble.

"Yo, Kuroko!" She turned around to see Kagami running up the hill like it was nothing. The rest of the basketball team was behind him.

"Hello, Kagami-kun." She wheezed out. Kagami laughed at her.

"Our coach decided to join you all." He said. Kuroko stood there and watched the players run pass them. Some of them were already slowing down.

"Faster! The faster you get this done the faster you get to go home!" Riko said and the guys groaned.

"I think I'm done." Tetsumi said to Kagami.

"No way! I just got here! C'mon, I'll help you out." He pushed her forward causing her to stumble forward.

"What are you doing?" She asked confused.

"I know you joined the team because you wanted to see the other schools for whatever reason. But you won't be able to if you don't get up this hill!" Kagami pushed her again and Tetsumi started to walk. If she wanted to see Seika she would have to do her best to make the team. If she wanted to see the others she'll have to do this. Tetsumi knew she didn't have to join the team to go to the tournament but she would have to pay for each game. It'll be easier to just be on the team and get in for free.

"If I make it up, your carrying me down." She said as she pushed her legs to climb the hill. In her head all she thought about was Seika standing at the top of the hill. Unreachable but so close. I can do this. I'm not weak and vulnerable. I'm strong and reliable. She said in her head. Without knowing it, Tetsumi was pulling herself ahead of her squad and the others girls including Kagami were cheering her on. Seika was getting closer and Tetsumi beamed when she finally reached the top.

"See? I knew you could do it." Seika said but she was soon replaced with Sekio.

"You were right." Tetsumi panted out wiping the sweat from her forehead. Soon, Kagami was standing right beside her and was startled when she jumped on his back.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"I told you, you were going to carry me back down. Let's go the sun is burning me alive." Tetsumi said. Kagami rolled his eyes but started walking down the hill anyway.

"Alright, so where do you guys want to grab something to eat?" Sekio asked the group. After practice they decided to go get something to eat on their way home. Tetsumi was feeling better after drinking gallons of water and laying down for a few minutes. Her bones were aching but she figured it'll be even worse in the morning.

"We can try that fast food joint down the straight." Riko said and the others all agreed. Excellent, that means I get to get a milkshake. Tetsumi though to herself and put a little pep in her step. She decided that she deserved her sugary desert.

"I can already tell what you are going to get." Kagami said as Tetsumi practically skipped beside him.

"I'm sorry but I don't understand what your talking about." She said clearly knowing what he's talking about.

"As soon as she mentioned Maji you started walking faster. Either you really have to go the bathroom or you're craving a milkshake." Kagami replied. Tetsumi scoffed.

"Kagami-kun is clearly delusional. I just want to sit down." She said.

"Yeah, okay. We'll see about that." He said gently shoving her causing Tetsumi to stumble to the side.

"Please don't push me around. I'm only but so big." Tetsumi said rubbing her shoulder. That go really doesn't know his own strength some times.

"Welcome to Maji Burger! How can I serve you today?" The cashier said at the register. Tetsumi slyly took out her wallet while the others found a table.

"One regular vanillin shake please." She whispered not wanting Kagami to know that she was buying one.

He found out anyway since he was standing in line behind her.

"Kagami-kun, you can't go scaring people like that." Tetsumi said after she jumped in surprised.

"That means you were doing something you weren't supposed to." He said to her before ordering a huge pile of hamburgers.

"I brought magazines to show you girls. They have super cute hair styles that we should take a vote on. We just can't represent our school any kind of way at the Winter Cup." Sekio pulled out a hand full of magazines and passed them around the table. Tetsumi sipped her milkshake before eyeing the basketball team that sat in the other booth beside them joking around.

"Here, Kuroko. I saw one that was perfect for you in here." One of the girls handed her a magazine and Tetsumi almost choked on her shake on the fourth page. The others noticed and one of them gentle patted her back.

It was a photo of Kise in an attire that would make Tetsumi's grandmother roll over in her grave. Rest her soul. Tetsumi flipped to another page then another and found even more.

"Kise Ryouka: Angel in Dipped Red." The captions said. Even though Kise looked stunningly beautiful, these photos weren't something Tetsumi wanted to see someone she knew doing.

"Oi, what's with the face you're making?" Kagami asked from the other booth. Everyone had turned to look at her when she was coughing up a storm. He reached over the booth and tried to grab the magazine but Tetsumi started ripping out the pages of Kise and crumple them up.

"Hey! What's the matter?" Sekio asked her. Tetsumi shook her head and went to throw the crumpled magazine papers in the trash. It felt like things were getting worse when they got better.

What are you doing, Kise?


	12. Chapter Eleven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally getting the ball rolling even more.

"Are you backing out now? After we've gotten so far?" Haizaki whispered in her ear. Kise panted heavily and cleared her throat. Her skin was hot and decorated in small beads of sweat and her face was most likely red. Her shirt was gone and so was the jean skirt she had on earlier. They were thrown off of her in a frenzy as soon as they entered the room. Kise's heart thumped against her ribcage as Haizaki took off his shirt. How weird that she was down to her undergarments and he still had his clothes on? She clenched her fist in the bed sheets as he kissed her neck again. Haizaki sucked on her skin hard making the skin a deep red color just like the ones on her thighs and stomach. Relax. You're acting like you two haven't done this before. She though to herself as a small moan left her lips. Kise could feel Haizaki smiling against her neck and she gasped out again when his hand caressed her stomach.

"I-I'm not backing out." Kise whimpered out. Haizaki hummed pleasantly as he moved his mouth to the side of her breast that was exposed. His tongue gently lick at the sensitive skin there.

"S-shougo!" She exclaimed. By reflex her hands found themselves tugging at the grey tresses of hair. Her thighs clamped against his waist enabling him to move.

"I saw your latest photo shoot. You looked amazing." Haizaki's warm breathe fanned over skin as he unclipped her bra and gently tug it off. Kise shivered at the look he was giving her. Those sliver eyes glinted dangerously in the dim sunlight that came in from the window. Goosebumps covered her skin when his fingers dipped into her underwear and pulled them down slowly.

"W-well, it wasn't anything spectacular." She said in a hush voice. She knew there were some people out there disgusted by her. Aomine definitely was. Her heart clenched painfully in her chest. No. Not here. Not now. Kise jumped when Haizaki grabbed her face.

"I know what your thinking. Don't think about that bitch when I'm touching you like this. Don't ever think about her when you're with me." He hissed out at her.

"I wasn't!" Kise insisted and squeaked when Haizaki opened her legs.

"Good. I don't want a repeat of last time." He said in a deep husky voice as he covered his mouth with hers fully showing her what he was made of.

Kise didn't know how her life did a huge 360. She could guess but that would make her feel even more dirty. The world didn't appreciate her when she was sweet and innocent. So, she gave them what they asked for. An underage girl with no priorities going off doing things that her father would kill her for. Her Mother would surely cry and her older brothers would definitely throw a fit. Whatever she thought. They already thought she was a whore anyway.

All Kise did was make it official.

She gasped and clenched onto Haizaki with shaking hands as he filled her. Kise dropped down from her high again for the third time that night and her body was trembling. Haizaki had kissed her again before getting out of his bed and throwing on his sweats.

"Do you want anything from the kitchen?" He asked looking back at her. Kise shook her head. Haizaki eyed her for a minute before walking out the bedroom. She covered her eyes as she felt tears fill them again. Her body ached and past memories filled her head again.

"Oh, Aomine..."

~

Midorima was sitting in front of the train station when she saw him. Once again the brat was ecstatic to see her like always. He was shorter than her but Midorima didn't think that he cared all that much. So, when he bounced over to her yelling that God forsaking nickname, Midorima tried her best to make it seem like she was invested in her phone.

"Shin-chan! Why do you have to be so cruel?! I just wanted to say hello!" Takao Kazunari exclaimed as he stopped in front of her. Midorima clenched her phone and looked up angrily at him.

"Why do you have to be so loud? We're in public." She said noticing the looks people were giving her. Takao rubbed the back of his neck nervously.

"Ah, I'm sorry. It's just that I rarely see you in school and out. What are you doing here?" He asked suddenly feeling like he shouldn't have come over. Takao had a feeling that Midorima wasn't an old grumpy lady like she acts. Every time he sees her she's always angry and always quiet. He really wanted to be her friend but she was always so negative towards him.

"I'm obviously waiting for my train." Midorima said just when it arrived. She was definitely lucky today. Thanks Oha Asa.

"Oh, well, it was nice talking to you, Shin-chan!" Takao waved at her as she boarded her train. His smile faltered when she didn't look back at him. He wanted to know more about this mysterious women that kept to herself. He wanted her to acknowledge him.

When Midorima got home, she quickly went to her room ignoring the hello's from her parents and little sister. She locked her door and splayed out on her bed in the dark. This was her routine day and night. Midorima took off her glasses and placed them onto the night stand before getting up and throwing on her pajamas. She'll take a shower in the morning before she goes to school. As she pulled her night shirt over her head, Midorima stubbed her toe into the dresser while walking over to her bed. She cursed and turned on the light to see what had fallen off her dresser. A frown worked its way onto her face as she picked up the shattered picture frame. She turned it over and hissed at it. It was a picture of them when they were in middle school at the first game they had. The first time they set sight on each other.

Midorima scoffed and throw the frame in the trash along with the glass that had covered her floor. There was no way she was going to forgive those traders. Not after what they said about her. Not after what they did.

She felt another headache coming and decided to just head to bed without dinner. Her mother would knock on her door around 10 or 11 to ask her if she wanted some. Midorima wouldn't answer back and just pretend to be asleep. Lately, she's been feeling exhausted each day after school. Bags would be under her eyes even though she sleeps the day. Midorima was beginning to get paranoid also. Always thinking that whenever she's at lunch a group of girls were laughing at her.

Midorima didn't need friends to talk to to make her feel better.

She was better off on her own.

~

"Atsuka! Get up or mom is coming in there!" Her older sister yelled from the other side of the door. Murasakibara was curled up on her bed in her night clothes with a bag of junk food. Her hair was greasy while spread out on the pillows but she didn't care. She was the heartless giant that everyone picked on. Usually, it didn't bother her but as of late the mere presence of a person caused her blood to boil.

Her family had a lot of people living in one house which meant that there was a lot of hand me downs. Murasakibara didn't mind really until someone pointed out how poor that life style was. It angered her because her family was anything but poor. That is until she found out that her parents had gotten laid off again. Her parents were scrambling for money to buy them food and pay the bills.

Murasakibara decided to skip meals so that everyone else could eat and her younger sisters wouldn't have to go to bed hungry. No one at school was supposed to know that she was doing that. The only person she told was Seika because she trusted her to be quiet about that. Apparently that was a mistake. They all knew but they made up a new reason that she was losing weight. It wasn't to make sure her younger siblings had food.

It was because no one wanted to hang around a junkie.

They wrote names about her on her locker calling her names like hand-me-down bitch and calling her a drug addict. No matter how many times she told them to quit it they ignored her. They believed it even more because of how she talked and how droopy her eyes were. Thinking about it made her clench her fist.

They even found out about how many siblings she had. They called her mother a whore and had the nerve to ask her if she knew who her dad was and how many there were. A guy got kicked in the groin for asking if her mom was taking offers.

"Atsuka! It's dinner time!" Her mother yelled from the other side of the door. Murasakibara got out of bed and headed downstairs.

Time to sit at the table and act like she wasn't in a terrible funk.

~

Aomine Daiki was standing in a store when a group of guys walked passed her. They whistled at her and cat called but she managed to scare them off. It was disgusting. Aomine was standing in line to but somethings when a magazine cover caught her eye. She raised and eyebrow and let out a string of curses when a guy picked it up. He started flipping through it while checking out the models in each bit. His favorite was the new blonde chick that looked young enough to be his daughter.

Aomine tsked and paid for her stuff before abruptly leaving but not before shoving the guy hard on her way out. She smiled wickedly when he fell into the stand. She put her hands in her puffy jacket and walked down the street. Aomine had been skipping school a lot lately and her dad has been getting on her case. Something about responsibilities or some crap like that. There was no way she was going to go to school long enough to here people complain about her skin color. She had enough of that shit at Teiko.

Aomine walked passed the same group of guys from before and saw that they were looking at the same magazine the other dude was. They were making lewd comments and Aomine clenched her jaw so hard she felt like her teeth were going to break. That stupid, stupid girl. What the hell was wrong with her? Acting like a two faced slut and going around posing like that. The bag she was holding got heavier and she shook her head.

Stop thinking. Just breath and relax. That's all you have to do.

Aomine calmed herself but as soon as she did someone had the nerve to grab her arm and spun her around.

"Who the fuck do you think you are grabbing me like that!?" She yelled yanking her arm out of his grip. The man was an ugly fellow but he was much taller than her. He had on a hoodie and a disgust smile on his face.

"Hey, I saw you walk by earlier and I wanted to say hello to such a pretty face." The man's breathe smelled like drugs and sour milk causing Aomine to almost gag.

"Yeah okay. I'm leaving now." She said walking away from him only to be grabbed again. This guy was persistent.

"C'mon now. I've hear a lot about your kind. Is it true about how freaky you get in bed?" He said getting into her personal space. Aomine's eyes widen and she pushed him away.

"I don't know what kind of shit your on but your not getting anything from me." She glared at him. The man looked more than pleased to get that reaction from her.

"Feisty too. So, tell me which one of your parents is-" He didn't even get to finish his sentence before she punched him square in the jaw. The man fell backwards and the people around them were gathering around.

"What the fuck are ya'll looking at?!" She yelled. Her adrenaline was already pumping and she had enough energy to spread around. The dude got off of the ground and spat in her direction.

"You crazy bitch! There's something wrong with her! Should've known all of ya'll are crazy!" He yelled. Aomine was about to go punch him again when a strong arm pulled her back. She stumbled backwards into a broad chest and she looked up to see a guy holding her back. Who the hell was he?!

"Leave her alone or you'll have to deal with me." He said threateningly. Aomine blinked confused and watched the guy glare at him.

"The bitch ain't worth it anyway." He grumbled out sneering in her direction before walking back from where he came. Aomine pushed the guy off of her and picked up her bags. All she wanted to do now was go home and eat.

"Hey, are you alright?" The guy asked her. He looked really concerned for her. Cute. Aomine snarled in her head.

"I'm fine. Now, if you'll excuse me." She head back into the direction of her apartment and didn't look back.  
The guy watched her worriedly before shrugging his shoulders.

At least she was safe for now.


	13. Chapter Twelve

Tetsumi was standing inside of the area. Her cheer uniform felt right on her skin and she couldn't believe how happy she was. She missed this feeling more than anything. Missed having the crowd scream her school name and cheering. This is what she was made for. Tetsumi was waiting for the rest of the squad to enter since they wanted to explore for a bit when she caught a sight she never thought she'd see.

"Kise-san!" She said waving the blonde over. Kise turned around confused and smiled brightly when she spotted her. She was wearing a white cheer uniform with Kaijo's name in blue kanji. It fit her very nicely.

"Kurokocchi, I haven't seen you in a while!" She said giving the smaller girl a hug. Tetsumi nodded her head and couldn't help the smile on her face.

"I'm glad you're on the team. I couldn't stay away for long either." She said.

"Yeah, I wasn't going to be on the team because...I didn't really have the guts to. Everything is so different now. It still doesn't feel right." Kise responded rubbing her arms. Tetsumi could tell that she was nervous about seeing the others here. It was a risk she was welling to take but she looked terrified.

"Oh and I saw your photo shoots. They were....interesting." She said. Kise's eyes darken.

"The world got what they wanted. I suppose that they're all happy now." Kise said in a sudden cold voice. Tetsumi felt a wave of desperation come from her friend.

"What do you want, Kise-san?" She asked her. Kise closed her eyes and smiled bitterly.

"I want my best friend back."

Tetsumi watched as she walked away to join the others and scowled herself for not having the guts to yell at her. Yelling wasn't Tetsumi's thing and she knew that Kise was in a dark place right now. They all kind of were.

"Going to find Shin-chan and bring her some munchkins. Going to find Shin-chan because she's the man." Tetsumi turned around to see a guy in a orange uniform carrying a bottle of water and a bag of chips. He looked awfully happy and she was able to see the name of the school he was from on his jersey.

Shutoko? Midorima goes there.

Kuroko followed the guy into the gym where his team was warming up for whoever they were going against. She saw that nearly their whole school came to support them. Tetsumi watched as the guy went up the steps and yelled Shin-chan as loud as he could while bearing his gifts.

"Look at what I got you!" He said smiling at her. Midorima wasn't in a cheer uniform like Tetsumi hopes she would be in. She was wearing a heavy coat in dress pants. Her hair was in a long braid down her back as her bangs rested on her forehead. She glanced over to the guy before looking back at the court.

I should go talk to her but she would probably be even more mad. Tetsumi thought as she hung out near the door. She decided to leave seeing as Midorima was the main one that was upset at her. She sucked in a breathe and turned around to leave.

Kise is here and so is Midorima. That makes three of them left. Tetsumi knew that she was here to make things right but she didn't know where to start. To prove her and the other girls innocent. Easier said then done. Tetsumi walked towards the gym they were going to be in.

She found it eventually and saw who they were going up against. This day just gets better and better. She thought to herself. Aomine Daiki was standing a few feet away from her. Her arms were crossed and she looked less than impressed with their team. From behind Kuroko could tell that she had gotten a lot taller and much slimmer too. Her hair had gotten much longer then the short fringe she had back in middle school. It was pulled back in a pony tail with a black hair tie. Aomine was wearing her huge blue puffy jacket that was over a blue sweater and some black yoga pants with snow boots. She was dressed for the winter.

"Aomine-san." Tetsumi said easing forward now that she had let her presence known. Aomine's shoulders tensed before she turned her head in her direction. Tetsumi could see small bags under her eyes.

"Eh, look who decided to go cheer again." Aomine said sounding bored.

"If you're not cheering and you don't have an interest in basketball, why are you here? Surely, there's something better you can spend your time doing." Tetsumi asked cocking her head to the side. Aomine scoffed at her but didn't say anything. It's because she was right.

"It's none of your business." She grumbled out abruptly walking away. Tetsumi followed her. She wanted to curse her small legs because it was hard for her to keep up.

"Aomine-san-" Tetsumi's voice was lost to another.

"Aomine?"

Aomine stopped in her tracks and her whole body went frigid at the voice. Tetsumi turned around to see Kise standing there with three other girls in Kaijo's cheer uniform. Kise's eyes were wide as Aomine slowly turned around. Her stormy blue eyes widen as she took in the other girls appearance. Kise seemed to be doing the same thing because there was this unsettling tension in the air. It was so thick Tetsumi couldn't breath.

"I didn't know you were going to be here." Kise said as she took a step closer. Aomine took one back. Tetsumi could practically see Kise shaking nervously. She knew Aomine would be here. Aomine didn't say anything. She couldn't. Her tongue was heavy in her mouth and her blood had stopped running through her veins. All these emotions she's been holding in for so long wanted to burst out. So, instead of saying something, she turned on her heels and walked away. Ignoring, Tetsumi's calls for her to come back.

"Let her go. It's better this way." Kise said with that darkness in her eyes. She walked away with the other girls and Tetsumi stood there feeling hopeless.

"Such a shame." A familiar voice said. Tetsumi felt her heart stop as she turned around to see her sister standing there. She was in a white uniform with Rakuzan in light blue letters across her chest. Her skirt had baby blue and black hidden in the folds. Her hair was longer and a brighter red as it stopped at her thighs.

"A broken friendship like that is going to take a lot more than them staring at each other. Perhaps it'll be better if they just didn't acknowledge each other." Empress continued as she walked closer.

"I haven't heard from you in a while." Tetsumi said watching her closely.

"Well, I had somethings to take care off." Empress opened her bag and pulled out a vanilla folder.

"Would you like to take a peak? I feel like this is something you should know." She said holding it out for her. Tetsumi stared at it for a minute before hesitantly grabbing it.

"This is the file father took with him that night." Tetsumi said stating the obvious. Empress hummed.

"Yes. The information was hard to receive but I manage to make a few phone calls and here it is." She said as Tetsumi stared at it. The file felt so heavy in her hands.

"What's inside it?" She asked.

"I think you should find that out. Read it somewhere private. You'll understand why I'm here a little bit more." Empress zipped up her bag and straighten her attire.

"Now, I'll be off. Please don't show anyone that. It's none of their business." With that Empress continued down the hallway leaving Tetsumi lost and afraid.


	14. Chapter Thirteen

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I don't even know if what I put is possible. XD

When the game was over against Tōo and Seirin came out on top, The team decided to go celebrate. Tetsumi was happy of course, but she didn't feel like going out. Her head was really bothering her. Instead, Kagami let her rest in his apartment since it was so close. She thanked him because it was so convenient and told him to tell the others that she'll go celebrate with them another time. When it was just Tetsumi in the lonely apartment, she sat on the couch and opened her bag revealing the folder. Her hands reached to take it out and she took a deep breath. It can't be anything that bad. She said to herself. But what if it was? Her stomach twisted uncomfortably and she opened the folder. At the top of the file it was said birth certificate. Tetsumi let out a breath knowing this information all ready.There was just three things listed though.

_**Akashi Tetsumi- 6 pounds. Female. Light blue eyes. Blue hair. No signs of birth defects. Born: 12/20** _

**_Akashi Seika- 6 pounds. Female. Red eyes. Red hair. Brain tissue defect. Must require transplant. Born: 12/20_ **

"Brain tissue defect?" Tetsumi murmured out.Her eyes widen as there was one more thing on the list.

**_Akashi Emari- 4 pounds. Female. Red hair. Golden eyes. Birth defects. Failure of lungs and heart. Born: 12/20 Death: 12/25_ **

Tetsumi's body froze and her eyes reread it again. Akashi Emari? We didn't have another sister. How's that possible? She quickly looked at another file and saw that it was Seika's medical information.

**_Akashi Seika- Brain tissue transplant was a success. Third triplet has been accounted for. All parts of the brain are stable and functioning._ **

**_Akashi Emari- The removal of brain tissue was a success. Having heart failure. Death after transplant._ **

They did a transplant on Seika and their other sister before she died. Her death was right after the transplant was a success. Tetsumi felt her eyes watered and she wiped them quickly before continuing to read.

**_Akashi Seika and Akashi Tetsumi were in incredible health but Akashi Seika was showing signs of DID (Dissociative identity disorder) at the age of 4. Treatment unknown._ **

Tetsumi felt her heart drop. Her parents knew? They knew about Seika's disorder? Why'd didn't they tell her something?! Anything!? And to top it all off they had another sister. A sister they've never met before. A sister they didn't even have the chance of meeting. Tetsumi read the other files. She doesn't know how many times she cried reading them. There was pictures of the three of them in their mothers stomach. Another picture of Tetsumi and one of Seika. Some more pictures of Emari. She was deathly pale and small. Tetsumi closed the file and cried her eyes out. Her heart aches for the sister she never knew she had. 

"Yo, Kuroko. I'm back!" She heard Kagami yell from the door way. Tetsumi quickly put the folder away in her bag and wiped her eyes. Kagami came into the living with a milkshake and a small bag of fries.

"Hello." She said softly.

"I brought you a milkshake. I knew you wouldn't forgive me for not getting you one." He said sitting beside her. Tetsumi smiled a bit but it soon disappeared.

"What happened? You're usually so excited to have a milkshake." He said noticing the change in mood. Tetsumi shook her head.

"I'm fine. Just a little tired." She said. Kagami nodded his head and stood up. "I'm going to assume your going to stay here for the night. The guest room is down the hall with a bathroom in there." He said grabbing her bag for her.Tetsumi followed him down the hall and into the room he was talking about.

That night Tetsumi laid in the bed and stared at her phone. She was texting Empress at around midnight. Trying to figure out why she wanted her to know this information. It only unnerved her more.

* * *

 **To** : Kuroko Tetsumi

 **From** : Akashi Seika

 **Sub:** Files

 **Message:** I wanted to see if you would put two and two together.

 **To:** Akashi Seika

 **From:** Kuroko Tetsumi

 **Sub:** _Re_ :Files

 **Message** : What is there to put together? I don't understand. All I know is that I had a sister I never knew about.

 **To:** Kuroko Tetsumi

 **From** : Akashi Seika

 **Sub** : _Re:re_ :files

 **Message** : Meet me at the sixth gym. It will be empty and there is where we will talk.

* * *

Tetsumi knew that Empress was basically telling her to go to sleep since it was so late but Tetsumi couldn't. Her mind was still going on and on about what she had just found out. She sighed and rolled over in the warm bed before deciding that it was time for her to force herself to close her eyes and go to sleep. When Kagami came to wake her up, Tetsumi was already dressed in her uniform and was brushing her hair to get rid of that hideous bed head she had. They ate a quick breakfast before they headed to the area. A lot of people had gathered already and it was starting to get really crowded. Tetsumi disappeared into the crowds losing Kagami and headed towards the sixth gym. She had a feeling that Empress was already waiting for her there.

Of course she was.

Standing in the middle of the empty gym was Empress. Looking as perfect as she did the day before. A sly smile was on her lips as she greeted the other girl.

"Not a second late. I suppose that you were really anxious to know why I showed you the documents and the pictures. She said as Tetsumi got closer. 

"Please help me understand. What does telling me that I had another sister and that Seika had an operation do with you?" Tetsumi said watching Empress smile again before closing her eyes.

"There was a time when Seika was born that she didn't have enough tissue in her brain to help her function. Your father found out and immediately requested surgery on Seika and Emari. Since Emari had a fully developed brain structure and she was already dying, the doctors just gave Seika some of Emari's brain tissue. It was a very difficult process for such young kids but it was a success. Sadly, one of the girls didn't make it. Emari was gone but Seika and you were still kicking." She said having a peacful look on her face.

"I already know this." Tetsumi said shaking her head.

"When Seika started showing signs of DID, Is the exact moment I arrived. I didn't want to die. I wanted to live and waking up one day with you lying across from me made me realize something. Seika and I could switch places. You should've seen my face when I looked in the mirror and saw that one of my eyes were red and not golden like the other. Since then, I let Seika take control because it was her body after all." Empress spoke in a soft tone and Tetsumi felt her shoulders drop.

No freaking way.

The way Empress spoke was as if she was....

"I had to get the documents from father to prove to you that I am indeed real." Empress opened both of her eyes.

Revealing nothing but gold.

"You're Emari...?" Tetsumi said staring at her in awe. Empress nodded her head.

"Yes, me and Seika have been sharing the same body for over a decade now. It was only possible because my consciousness was still intact with the brain tissue they gave Seika." She said. Tetsumi just stared at her as if she was crazy but she knew deep down that Empress or Emari was telling nothing but the truth. 

"If your here where's Seika?" Tetsumi asked confused. Emari just shrug her shoulders.

"Probably floating around in her conscious asleep. She can't do what I can." she stated.

"I don't know what to say." Tetsumi said to her completly lost for words. Emari walked closer to her and gently grabbed her shoulders.

"You don't have to do anything because soon it's just going to be me completely. Seika won't be anything but a footnote." She said with her golden eyes shining in the dimly lit gym. 

"Your going to kill Seika?" Tetsumi said and pushed Emari away from her. 

"It's a sacrifice she's willing to take."

"'willing' meaning that she doesn't have a choice! I'm not going to let you get away with that!" Tetsumi determined. Emari just laughed at her.

"Poor Tetsumi. You don't understand what it's like being trapped in someone else's body all the time. Falling in love with someone that doesn't even know you exist. I shouldn't worry about you though because there's absolutely nothing you can do to stop me." Emari gave her one last look before exiting the gym. Tetsumi ran after her but couldn't find that vibrant color hair anywhere.

I can't let her get rid of Seika. But how can I stop her when everything is happening mentally? Tetsumi thought to herself as she headed toward her own gym.

Her team was just about to get ready to go against Yosen.


	15. Chapter Fourteen

"Kuroko!"

"Tetsu!"

Tetsumi was pulled out of her thoughts when two distinctive voices called for her attention. She looked up to see Kagami and Aomine walking towards her. Today, Aomine had on grey leggings with her snow boots and a white blouse underneath a long grey cardigan that was long enough to cover her butt. Her hair was down with a white head band keeping it out of her face. When Kagami saw her he almost ran into someone because holy shit.....just.....holy freaking shit.....

Tetsumi smiled internally at how goofy Kagami looked.

"How can I help you two?" She asked as they stopped in front of her.

"Do you want to have lunch?" The both of them said. Aomine narrowed her eyes at him and Kagami glared right back. He certainly wasn't thinking about how beautiful her eyes went with the light grey eyeshadow she put on this morning. Of course not! That would be ridiculous-

"Hey! You're that girl that punch that creep in the face!" He exclaimed. He was just walking by and heard the commotion when it happened. Now that it wasn't dark, Kagami could see her clearly now. Her eyes widen and she punched him in the shoulder. Hard.

"Ow! What the hell is wrong with you!?" Kagami yelled at her. Why was she so strong!?

"That was for holding me back when I was kicking someone's ass! That asshole deserved it!" Aomine yelled right back and Tetsumi smiled. What a way to start her day. Kagami rubbed his bruised arm angrily.

"I think Kagami-kun did you a favor. I don't think your dad would be happy picking you up from the police office." Tetsumi said as they started walking out of the arena. The match didn't started till 2 so they had an hour and thirty minutes to spare. Aomine rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Whatever. He would've just gave me a talk and tell me to go to my room. Like I don't go there everyday." She said. Kagami was watching her before he looked back at Tetsumi, who looked rather comfortable for some reason.

"How long have you two know each other?" Kagami asked. Tetsumi shrugged.

"Give or take three years? We met during cheerleading." She said. Kagami looked back at Aomine who was staring ahead. She looked like a person who would do cheerleading. Tall, fit, and pretty. So, so pretty. Something sharp hit him in the stomach.

"Why is everyone hitting me!?" He exclaimed holding his stomach. Tetsumi smiled.

"It's not nice to stare." She whispered. Tetsumi knew that Aomine was attractive. You'd have to be blind not to see it.

"Hey, we can get something at this cafe." Aomine said skipping up the stairs. The others followed her into the cafe where it was warm and smelled like coffee. Tetsumi took a deep breathe and took a seat in the booth beside Aomine with Kagami on the other side.

"You like sandwiches?" Aomine asked when Kagami came back with the longest sandwich they've ever seen in their life.

"Yeah. The longer the better!" He said giving a smile. Aomine started laughing into her hand and Kagami's face redden.

"You're so weird, Kagami-kun." Tetsumi said sipping a milkshake. She could really taste the vanilla and her taste buds were satisfied.

"Why did you want to eat lunch with us, Aomine-san?" She asked a few minutes later. Aomine shrugged again leaning on her elbow.

"I guess I just missed being around people. It's no fun hanging around by yourself. No ones there to amuse you or do something idiotic. So, I came to find you." She said acting as if it wasn't a big deal.

"I'll have you know I hardly do anything idiotic or amusing." Tetsumi said. Aomine rolled her eyes.

"Can't you see that I missed you? Gross, saying that out loud makes me feel all girly and mushy." She said shriving. Tetsumi's eyes soften and she hugged the navy haired girl.

"I missed you too." She said squeezing her.

"Oi! Stop hugging me! You're making me uncomfortable!" Aomine exclaimed. She wouldn't admit it but she was relieved to have the other girl back in her life. Kagami was smiling unconsciously as he ate his sandwich. This was the first time he'd seen her so happy.

"So, Kagami Taiga, huh?" Aomine said looking at him suspiciously.

"Aomine Daiki?" Kagami said right back. Aomine gave him a sly grin and Kagami felt his heart thump against his chest.

So this is Japanese beautiful girl.....

"Interesting name. I can tell that you play basketball, obviously with that height. You look pretty threatening with those eyebrows though." She said squinting at them and leaning close.

"Did you get in a fight or is it genetic?" Aomine asked.

"It's genetic! I have nothing to fight about." Kagami said. Tetsumi shrugged.

"Could've been a prank gone wrong." She said. Aomine laughed.

"Aw, man. Now that sounds more amusing. If anyone ask, tell them that." She said leaning back in her seat. Kagami scoffed but smiled anyway.

"Hey, it's almost time! Let's get going before they start." Tetsumi said looking at her cellphone clock.

The three of them headed back to the arena where more people were gathering back. They headed to the gym were the teams were already practicing on their side of the court. Tetsumi saw how huge the Yosen players were. She looked over to the bleachers and found what she was looking for. Murasakibara was huddled up there snacking on a bag of chips. Her eyes were trained on one of the players.

"I'll sit in the bleachers while you two go do your things. You better not lose." Aomine said as she gently shoved Kagami who watched her walk towards the bleachers.

"You don't have to make that face. She's not going anywhere." Tetsumi teased as she headed over to the cheer bench.

"No one was thinking about her!" Kagami's face was red but he scowled and stopped over to his side of the court.

Let the games begin.

~~~~~~~

"Oh man! You were awesome! The way you jumped and just threw that ball into the net was amazing!" The game was over with Seirin earning another victory. Kagami managed to beat his brother and come out on top again with the help of his team mates. Aomine was super excited during the match and Kagami would be lying if he said that hearing her encouraging him made him want to do better. He wanted to impress her. Tetsumi was smiling at how Aomine was imitating the dunk.

"You have to teach me that!" Aomine said out of breathe from cheering. Kagami just shrugged.

"It's not a big deal. I was just playing for everyone out there. Just going full force." He said rubbing the back of his neck. Aomine tsked.

"You hear that, Tetsu? He's just scared because I could be better than him." She said. Tetsumi nodded her head.

"Kagami is such a scaredy cat." She commented.

"Oi!"

"Eh, If it isn't Mine-chin and Kuro-chin." They looked up to see Murasakibara standing there. A picky stick was hanging out of her mouth as she nibbled on the end.

"Hello, Murasakibara-san." Tetsumi said being polite. The giant hummed and eyed them lazily before walking off. Aomine humphed.

"You can't tell but she's still mad at us. Don't worry if I could come around she can too." She said ruffling Tetsumi's hair.

"Please stop." She asked. Aomine laughed until she felt a huge hand on her head.

"Oi!" She exclaimed as Kagami ruffled hers.

"All for one and one for all." He said with a goofy grin on his face.

"It took forever to get my hair this straight. Lay off!" Aomine said bringing her hands to his hair and messing it up. Tetsumi giggled at her friends unconsciously flirting with each other.

Now, if only she could get the others to be on her side again.


	16. Chapter Fifteen

"Aomine-san, I'm going to need your help." Tetsumi said as they sat in Tetsumi's hotel room watching movies. Aomine was eating popcorn and staring lazily at the tv before turning her head.

"With what?" She asked with a mouthful of popcorn. Tetsumi made a face but ignored her.

"I need to get everyone together again. We all need to be as close as we were back in middle school." She said. Aomine grunted and took a swig of her soda.

"That's not gonna be possible. Somethings just can't be forgiven." Was all she said. Tetsumi clinched her fist and grabbed the remote to turn off the tv. Aomine gave her a dirty look.

"Yes they can! You just don't want to forgive her. Listen, I know you and Kise had this thing going on-"

"What!? What kind of shit are you sprouting?" Aomine looked enraged at her. But Tetsumi knew that she was just surprised that someone knew.

"Seika told me about it. She told me that even though you two didn't really go out, that there was still this connection." Tetsumi said watching Aomine's frown deepen.

"I don't know what your talking about." She murmured turning her back to the other girl.

"Perhaps that's why you reacted so violently towards her when you found out about Haizaki-kun. You were upset that she would keep something so important from you. I know you didn't mean the things you said to her." Tetsumi continued. She waited for Aomine to lash out at her to tell her that she was wrong. To tell her that she didn't care what Kise did any more.

"You don't know how much it hurt." She heard Aomine say. Tetsumi was surprised how gentle her voice was.

"We told each other everything. We did everything together. For fucks sake, she was my first kiss. It was an accident,of course, but it happened. If anything, that brought us closer together." She said. Tetsumi nodded her head even though Aomine couldn't see her.

"I know that what she did hurt you but do you really want her gone from your life? Completely?" Tetsumi asked quietly. It was quiet for a few minutes as if Aomine was actually thinking about what she said. She sat up suddenly and looked at Tetsumi with wide eyes.

"Of course not! She's the first person who taught me how to put on make, how to do my hair and how not to dress like a hobo!" She exclaimed. Tetsumi laughed at how fast Aomine grabbed her phone.

"If we talk, I want you to be there to guide us back to the topic at hand. I have a feeling that we might steer off it a few times." She said typing as quick as her fingers would let her.

"Of course." Tetsumi said turning the TV on again.

~~~~~

Kise was sitting outside of her gym panting slightly. Her leg was killing her after landing on it wrong when she did a flip. Her captain noticed it and decided to keep her out. She clenched her skirt and grit her teeth as she got up to stand on it. I can do this. Just go into the gym and sit down. Kise said as she walked forward. A shock of pain ran up her leg and she stopped. I can't do this. I can't.

"Yo, Kise!" Kise's body tensed and she turned around suddenly ignoring the pain she was feeling. Aomine was walking towards her with Tetsumi and some other guy. She felt like she was about to get jumped but she stood her ground.

"Hello." She said politely. One wrong word and Aomine could punch her.

"Hi...." Aomine said putting her hands into her pockets. Tetsumi rolled her eyes and pushed her closer. Aomine yelled and stumbled forward before finding her footing.

"I um... wanted to talk to you. I wanted to say that I was sorry." She said as she looked at the blonde. Kise just stared at her. Her heart had stopped beating and she didn't know what to do, so Aomine continued.

"I know that what I said to you was hurtful and I shouldn't have snapped at you because you were probably just waiting for the right time to tell me. It's just that....you're really important to me and if you did something stupid and I couldn't help you...I don't know what I'll do. You're my best friend and I love you." She said looking embarrassed that she was saying this in front of these people. Kise looked like she was about to cry.

"Hey, I'm apologizing! That doesn't mean you start crying!" Aomine started to panic. Kise wiped her eyes and started laughing.

"Ahomine, I missed you too." Kise skipped forward and clomped her tightly into a hug. Aomine almost fell backwards but hugged her back.

"I'm never going to do something like that ever again. You're my best friend and I should tell you everything. I don't want to ever hear you curse at me again. I don't like it when you get angry. It's terrifying, honestly." Kise said and they both laughed. Tetsumi couldn't help the warm feelings consuming her and turned around to see Kagami wiping his eyes while mumbling that he wasn't crying.

"Oh and guess what!" Kise said pulling back from the hug. Aomine raised an eyebrow.

"What?" She asked worried that it might've been another secret.

"I love you too, Aominecchi!" Kise yelled and jumped her again. She was laughing and rocking her friend back and forth again. Other people in the arena looked around to see where all the commotion was coming from. Relief filled her body and she felt like she could finally breathe again.

"Tetsu, get over here!" Aomine said and Kise nodded her head.

"Kurokocchi needs a hug too!" She said and they scooted over to grab the smaller girl. Tetsumi laughed and hugged them back.

"I know you girls are having a moment but Kuroko and I have a match to attend." Kagami said nodding towards the gym. Tetsumi nodded her head and grabbed her bag from where it was thrown onto the floor.

"Oh, me too. Aominecchi-Whoa!" Kise exclaimed when Aomine picked her up piggy back style.

"Your legs busted and there's no way you're going to damage it any farther. Oi, Kagami, knock'em out, okay?" Aomine smiled and carried a blushing Kise into the gym to go sit in the bleachers.

"I feel like Aomine-san telling you that will make you want to do your best. It's like she has a charm on you." Tetsumi said as they walked over to the team bench.

"Pfft, of course not! I was going to give it my all anyway. She has nothing to do with it." Kagami took off his jacket and dropped it by his bag. He wasn't lying but being encouraged by someone like Aomine had him going in circles. Tetsumi laughed.

"Just asked her out already." She says causing Kagami to trip as he took off his pants.

~~~~

"Seirin's on a roll! You guys have gotten so far." Kise said as she clung onto Aomine's back. They were walking towards somewhere to eat after the game. Tetsumi had never cheered so hard in her life and was ready for a goodnight's sleep.

"Yeah! You guys are going to pound Rakuzan into the ground with the show you have been putting on." Aomine said causing Kise to nod her head.

"Well, I don't know about that but we're going to do our best." Kagami said with a blush on his cheeks. They laughed at him before they stopped walking to face the Rakuzan team. Emari was giving them a look that Tetsumi wanted to wipe off of her face.

"Tetsumi, Daiki, Ryouka, and Kagami. What a misfortune of seeing you all here." She said. Aomine sucked her teeth.

"Well, what a misfortune of being in your presence. Honestly, it's suffocating." She mumbled. Tetsumi didn't know if Emari heard her but if she did she wasn't showing any signs that she did.

"We'll see you at the game. Don't shed tears when your victory ends so abruptly." She said looking at Tetsumi instead of Kagami, who was glaring angrily at her.

"We won't disappoint." Kagami said. Emari smiled with golden eyes gleaming before leading her team out of the arena.

"Geez, what happened to, Akashicchi?" Kise asked. Tetsumi shook her head.

"There's something I have to tell you guys." Tetsumi announced.


	17. Chapter Sixteen

"Eh?! You have another sister!?" Kise exclaimed.

"And she took over Seika's body?" Aomine yelled.

"And she's trying to replace her?!" Kagami said nearly choking on the tofu he was eating. They were sitting in Kagami's living eating the tofu they ordered earlier when Tetsumi decided to spill the beans.

"I need all of you to help me get her back." Tetsumi said to her friends, who looked at her questionably.

"How are we supposed to help her though?" Kise asked as Aomine wrapped a gauze around her leg. They went to get it checked out earlier and the doctor told her that she just needed to stay off of it.

"The same way she showed up. We're going to need Nijimura-sempai." Tetsumi told them. The girls stared at her with wide eyes.

"That's....how are we supposed to do that? He moved to California way back when." Aomine said. Tetsumi frowned knowing that information. It wouldn't work due to how far away they were.

"Um, did you say Nijimura? As in Nijimura Shuuzou?" Kagami asked.

"Yeah? How'd you know?" Tetsumi asked.

"Himuro and him played basketball together when he lived back in America. I met him while visiting my dad. I could call Himuro and ask him for his number." Kagami said as he dialed a number into his phone. The girls looked at each surprised and smiled when someone answered.

"Muro-chin can't come to the phone right now." A childish voice sounded through the speaker. Aomine grabbed Kagami's phone and put it to her ear.

"We need to talk to him.....I don't care if you're angry with us. This is important...... Don't yell at me or I'll come through this phone and-"

"Murasakibara-san, whatever happened in middle is over with. We would have never done something like that to you. Please understand that. Seika would never do something like that to hurt you. She's not that kind of person." Tetsumi said cutting off Aomine by taking the phone. Murasakibara was silent for a minute before there was some shuffling noises.

"Sorry. She went to go sulk on the couch. You wanted to speak to me?" A soft make voice ranged from the other end. Kagami grabbed his phone again.

"Yo, Tatsuya. We need a phone number from you. It's kinda important." He said into the line.

"Oh? Did you change your mind about that foreign transfer girl I was talking about that wanted your number?" Himuro said. Kagami's face turned red as Aomine looked at him curiously.

"No! It's about that Nijimura guy. You still have his number right?" He said trying to desperately change the conversation. Himuro hummed.

"Yeah, do you want it? I'll tell him to expect a call from you later on since it's going to be morning soon over there." He said. The girls sighed happily and Himuro laughed.

"Why are there so many girls in your apartment, Taiga? Are you having a party without me?" He said and Kagami scoffed.

"Just give me the number." He growled out. Tetsumi wrote out the numbers Himuro gave them in her phone and saved the contact. Kagami was about to hang up the phone when Tetsumi grabbed it again.

"Himuro-kun, please tell Murasakibara-san that we're really sorry for not being there when she was going through a tough time. We're all really sorry." Tetsumi said to him.

"I'll tell her but that doesn't mean she'll listen." Himuro said before they hung up.

"So, that means we have to call early in the morning, huh?" Kise said to the others.

"This is gonna be a long night." Aomine yawned and stretched out on the couch.

"You're gonna squish, Aominecchi!" Kise said almost being forced off the couch.

"We'll be able to call him." Tetsumi said leaning against Kagami. Her eyes began to droop as sleep began to take over.

~~~~~~~~

In the morning, she woke up with a start. Oh, no! They forgot to call Nijimura. Tetsumi looked around and saw Aomine and Kise drooling on each other but Kagami was no where to be seen. There was a note where she last seen him and she picked it up.

Went to go buy new shoes. Don't wait for me.

Of course. He was playing extremely rough in his old ones.

"Aomine-san, Kise-san, it's time to get up. We have to get ready." Tetsumi said shaking the two girls. Kise yawned and flopped to the other side of the couch.

"I'm glad this is the last game. I'm ready to go." She said sleepy while shaking Aomine.

"Aominecchi, we have to go." Aomine groaned and looked arounded dazed.

"I'm hungry. Tetsu, feed me." She said. Tetsumi rolled her eyes and pulled her friends up.

They walked toward the arena with anticipation. The girls were planning on ambushing Murasakibara and Midorima before the game started. Kise was still riding on Aomine's back when they saw Murasakibara walking towards them. It was the first time they've seen the girl since the Yosen game and they were astound at how tall she gotten. Wearing nothing but a long jacket and jeans, Murasakibara stopped in front of them looking annoyed.

"Muro-chin told me what you said. I didn't believe him but I started thinking about the situation more. I'm sorry." Murasakibara said smiling softly. Tetsumi walked forward and grabbed the giants hand.

"I'm sorry, too." She said.

"We're all sorry, Murasakibaracchi!" Kise said leaning forward causing Aomine to move forward.

"Stop directing me like I'm a horse!" She complained causing the latter to laugh.

"We have to hurry to find Midorima-san then get to the gym." Tetsumi said to her friends and they nodded.

Kagami had arrived later after the girls had gathered in the top row of the bleachers. Midorima was standing beside them grudgingly but she looked pleased to see them.

"Where'd you go?" Aomine asked as he walked up to them. Kagami shrugged.

"I needed shoes. I can't play like a hobo with so much at stake." He said to her. The girls eyed him and he rubbed the back of his neck.

"You guys look like skittles grouped together." He mumbled and Aomine punched him again.

"Last person that said ended up with a bruised spleen." She said. Kagami rubbed his arm and pouted.

"How do you bruise someone's spleen?" He asked. Kise shrugged.

"With violence?" She said and nearly jumped out of her seat. Murasakibara caught her and frowned.

"Why are you jumping?" She asked confused.

"Um...." Kise looked over to Aomine worriedly. Aomine raised an eyebrow as if she was challenging her.

"Ah, I saw my boyfriend over there..." She said. Aomine humphed but didn't say anything.

"Haizaki-kun is here? How interesting." Tetsumi said rubbing her wrist.

"Oh, we're going to go now. Kuroko, come on." Kagami grabbed her hand and pulled her out of her seat.

"Oi, Kuroko. Your lucky item today is....." Midorima's shout was lost into the cheers of the audience.

"Kagami-kun, where did you really go?" Tetsumi asked when they got to the court. Kagami shrugged off his jacket and stuffed it in his bag.

"I might've went to....America." He said as if it wasn't a big deal. Tetsumi stared at her friend confused.

"B-but how did you make it back in one day? I don't get it." She said.

"I'll tell you after the match. Right, now, make sure everything is in place and everything is ready." Kagami jogged off onto the court for the line up. Tetsumi looked up into the audience and saw her friends in different parts of the arena. They gave her a thumbs up and she nodded her hand.

"It's show time!" Sekio yelled at her causing Tetsumi to jump. Tetsumi smiled and nodded her head.

I hope this works.


	18. Chapter Seventeen

"Your team is really starting to upset me. It's practically illogical for them to win." Emari said from beside her. Tetsumi doesn't remember how she got there and it annoyed her how she was talking about her team.

"Well, not all of us play like we have sticks stuck up our behinds." She said. Emari glared at her from the side.

"Hm, your speaking but all I hear is how insulted you are to play against a team that's so upper class. If anything you're just upset that father favors me more." She said crossing her arms. Tetsumi glared at her but didn't say anything. Soon, everything will be in place.

During halftime, Emari was stumbling around holding her head. The reason why might've been because everyone was cheering Tetsumi and Seirin on. She thought that everyone was on her side for some reason. The ones who started the chant was her friends of course. Aomine had someone managed to get the microphone away from the announcer.

"If you lose, I'll make you regret the day you were born!" She yelled and then Kise was there.

"Kagamicchi, you can do it. We believe in you! Go kick Akashicchi's ass, Kurokocchi!" She yelled at her. Tetsumi was laughing at how the audience started yelling at her team.

"SEIRIN! SEIRIN! YOU CAN DO IT! YOU HAVE TO WIN!" Tetsumi was surprised to see Midorima yelling. The people in her section were yelling also while pumping there fist. The crowd cheered when Midorima did a cartwheel and one of the old routine they learned back at Teiko.

"Mido-chin, hogging all the attention!" Murasakibara said in her section. Tetsumi watched her friends lead the section was in cheering for Seirin. Tetsumi's eyes watered as the whole arena was cheering on Seirin.

"Come on girls!" Her captain yelled as they did their cheers. The gym was loud as the game started back up again. The air was filled with adrenaline and cheering as Seirin scored another basket.

Emari was furious. Her face was twisted into an angry scowl and her fist were clenched. She was beyond livid. How dare that girl do this? She was perfection! She had to win for her father to approve her. If she won she could finally put together the perfect person to take over Seika. Emari watched as her old squad performed their old tricks for Seirin! They didn't even go there! Her blood was hot as it ran through her veins and angry tears filled her eyes as everything went dark. Emari screamed as she was locked into her subconscious again.

"Your time is up." She turned around to see Seika staring at her. Seika looked like she did back in middle school. The chubby cheeks and glistening wide eyes gave it away.

"No! That's not fair! You're not supposed to be here!" Emari yelled at her sister. Angry tears fell down her cheeks and she wiped them aggressively. So close! She was so close only to have it ripped from her hands by that bluenette.

"It's over. Tetsumi beat you. She turned everyone against you even the audience. It's your turn to see nothing but darkness." Seika leaned forward and covered Emari's eyes as a white light appeared and cheering filled her ears. Emari screamed in agony as she saw nothing but darkness.

"SEIRIN! SEIRIN!" Everyone cheered as the buzzer went off indicating that the match was over. Tetsumi and her squad ran onto the court along with everyone else as confetti fell from the ceiling. Kagami was laughing and hugging his team mates. They won the winter cup and he couldn't be happier. Tetsumi appeared by his side and he could see her laughing with tears in her eyes.

"You did it, Kagami-kun!" She said as he ruffled her hair. He laughed at her and was suddenly jumped by a navy headed girl.

"Bakagami! You were incredible!" Aomine laughed and grabbed his face before smashing her lips upon his. Kagami's eyes went wide as he wrapped his arms around her. Tetsumi started laughing at the others especially Midorima's face.

"When did this happen, nanadayo!?" She exclaimed. Kise literally had tears running down her face.

"Aominecchi, I'm so happy for you!" She cried hugging Murasakibara who was helping her stand up.

"Tetsu, isn't there something you should be doing?" Aomine said as she broke away from a shell shocked Kagami. His face was red and eyes still opened wide.

Tetsumi turned around to see that Emari was standing there anymore. Her team was but she was no where to be found. Tetsumi bid goodbye to her friends and quickly ran out of the gym. Emari wasn't in the locker rooms, or the girls room downstairs. Not in any of the gyms or by the lounge. Tetsumi couldn't find her anywhere. It was like she disappeared into thin air.

Seika had left the court when the buzzer sounded. She had a slight headache but it was becoming numb as time passed. Seika had her jacket and bags with her as she headed back to the hotel. She really needed to go take a hot shower and go to bed. Seika knew that her father would be calling her either tonight or tomorrow. That was something she didn't look forward to at all. Seika started walking down the stairs when she felt a presence behind her.

"Where do you think you're going?" They asked. Seika frowned and felt her heart stop. She slowly turned around and was greeted with a small smile.

"It seems that my Kouhai has been acting up. Do you know anything about that?" Nijimura said as he walked closer to her. Seika had to look at him because of how tall he'd gotten. His eyes were a lighter shade of sliver and there was no sign of adolescence on him. Nijimura Shuuzou grew up to be a very handsome man.

"You can say that but the situation turned out to be more complicated." Seika said suddenly feeling nervous. It's not like she wasn't the same in middle school she was but there was a catch. Some other person has been living in her body for the pass 16 years. Nijimura shrugged his shoulders.

"You can tell me over dinner. I saw a new place that opened up a few blocks from here. Their specialty is your favorite." He said taking her bag from her shoulders and putting it on his.

"You would not mind? We kind of left off on a bad note." Seika said. She was stunned when Nijimura grabbed her hand and entwined her fingers with his.

"I wouldn't have spent all my college savings to come see if you were okay if I didn't." Seika smiled softly and allowed for him to lead her away from the arena.

Tetsumi was out of breathe and annoyed. I can't believe she just walked off like that. She thought to herself. Her feet hurt because of how hard she was running and her back was killing her.

"Guess you didn't find her." She looked up to see the others walking towards her. She wasn't surprised to see Kagami's arm around a pouting Aomine.

"Where'd Kise-kun go?" Tetsumi asked not seeing the blonde anywhere in sight. Aomine sighed heavily again.

"Ki-chan went with Haizaki." Tetsumi turned to look at Midorima, who was standing beside a short male.

"Takao followed us. I couldn't get him to go away." She said disappointingly.

"Aw, Shin-chan knows that she love me!" He said happily causing Midorima to sigh again.

"Aomine almost punched that guy in the face. I had to stop her." Kagami said.

"You didn't have to do anything. Just one punch in that bastards face and I'll be happy." Aomine said rolling her eyes but that look turned into disappointment.

"I don't think Ki-chin would be happy about that." Murasakibara said nibbling on her umaibo.

"I'm sure you'll get to talk with Akashi. If not now then tomorrow. I'm dirty and tired so let's go home." Kagami said to Tetsumi.

The group departed when they had left the arena and Tetsumi went back to her hotel room to get her stuff packed. In the morning she would have to leave with her squad. Tetsumi laid on her bed after she took a shower. She was exhausted.


	19. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All good things must come to an end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IM SO SORRY I ABANDONED THIS FOR TWO YEARS. IDK WHAT EVEN HAPPENED BUT I FINALLY GOT THIS OUT. THIS WAS SO DELAYED WHO'S EVEN READING THIS ANYMORE LOL

A full week had passed since Tetsumi had heard from her sister and she was beginning to get worried. She thought that Emari had disappeared for good but maybe she had made a reappearance. Tetsumi didn’t know what she was going to do if that was the case and just ended up worrying about her sister even more. Kagami had told her that Seika was fine and that there was nothing that she needed to worried about. Tetsumi ended up believing him while deciding to just wait for Seika no matter how long it took. One day when Tetsumi was leaving practice though, she had noticed that someone with bright red hair was standing at the gates. Hope filled Tetsumi’s small body before she hurried over to where her sister was waiting for her.

“Seika, I’ve been waiting for you!” Tetsumi exclaimed while tackling her sister into a tight hug which the slightly taller girl returned immediately.

“I’m so sorry for what happened, Tetsumi. I don’t know what came over me.” Seika apologized fervently but Tetsumi could care less.

“It’s alright as long as you’re back again! Is Emari still there?” Tetsumi pulled back from the hug to look at her sister’s eyes and was surprised to see that Seika looked sad.

“Our dear sister is no more, Tetsumi. I believe that she is finally resting in peace now.” Seika spoke softly and Tetsumi frowned a little and nodded her head in understand. Even though Emari seemed to be hell bent on taking over Seika, she was still their sister. A sister they had never got the pleasure of knowing until recently.

“I see then.” Tetsumi hummed out sadly. Seika gave her a small smile before she cleared her throat.

“Tetsumi, I want to introduce you to someone.” Seika told her before turning around to wave someone over Tetsumi frowned a little because she didn’t know if she could handle a new person coming into their lives but her eyes soon widen in disbelief because the person wasn’t new at all.

“Nijimura-senpai?” Tetsumi questioned as the former basketball captain walked over to them. He looked so handsome that Tetsumi was having trouble recognizing him.

“Hey, Kuroko. It’s nice to see you again.” Nijimura smiled at her widely before placing an arm around Seika’s shoulders while pulling her into his embrace. Tetsumi’s jaw seem to drop a little because when on earth did this happen.

“Well, I’m glad that the two of you have finally reacquainted yourselves.” Tetsumi told her sister and she was telling the complete truth. Seika blushed a bit when Nijimura had kissed her cheek.

“I’m glad too.”

~

“Aominecchi, there’s something I have to tell you.” Kise was sitting on the carpet floor of Aomine’s bedroom doing her toenails while Aomine was laying on her bed flipping through the channels of her television.

“What is it?” Aomine asked lazily but didn’t turn her head to look at the other girl. She was seriously focused on trying to find something that could hold both of their attention. Kise cleared her throat a little before speaking again.

“W-well, you know how Haizaki and I were a thing?”

“Do you have to remind me?” Aomine asked distastefully causing Kise to giggle a little.

“Well, I broke up with him.”

“Eh?” Aomine stopped flicking through the channels to look at her best friend to see that she was smiling at her brightly. “Are you just saying that to make me happy?”

“No, I really broke up with him. I didn’t like how he treated me sometimes and since I have you back in my life now, I realized that I didn’t need him anymore. Plus, our friendship is more important to me than being in a relationship especially when the guy hates my best friend.” Kise found herself blushing a bit since Aomine had been staring at her for a whole minute without blinking and it was making her anxious. “Um, is that okay?”

“Of course it’s okay, you idiot!” Aomine yelled at her before getting off of her bed to tackle her friend into a tight hug. “For a few days, I thought about what if you guys got married and I was your maid of honor. I don’t think I could handle that type of pressure.”

“Ah, I don’t think Hazaki and I would’ve gotten married though but I better be your maid or honor for when you get married.” Kise giggled out when Aomine looked at her like she had two heads.

“Me? Married to who?”

“I know you and Kagamicchi have something going on with each other.” Kise wiggled her eyebrows suggestively at her friend. “I remember you kissing him when he won the tournament.”

“Shut up, Kise!” Aomine’s cheeks red at the memory because she still couldn’t believe that she did such a thing.

~  
There wasn't a single cloud in the sky one Saturday morning and Tetsumi knew that today was going to be a good day because she was meeting up with her friends. Once her alarm went off indicating that it was time for her to get ready, Tetsumi nearly skipped her morning routine since he was so excited. Her mother had questioned her about why she was running around her room in a panic but when she found out what Tetsumi was doing today, Kuroko-san couldn't help but smile. She was so happy that Tetsumi was hanging out with the other girls again since she always shined her brightest when she was with them.

"Kurokocchi!"

Before Tetsumi could even step off the bus, Kise was already running towards her wearing a beautiful sky blue dress and her hair was in a high bun. Aomine was standing behind her and Tetsumi was shocked to see that Kagami was there too also the fact that the two of them were holding hands made her eyes widen. So, Kagami finally confessed. Tetsumi thought to herself internally. She was happy for her friend since he apparently cared about Aomine a lot.

"Hello, everyone. Am I late?" Tetsumi asked after Kise released her.

"Nah, we're still waiting for Akashi and the others." Aomine gave her a bright smile that Tetsumi couldn't help but return.

"You won't be waiting long." Tetsumi turned around to see her sister walking hand in hand with Nijimura-senpai while a peaceful look was adored her face. Murasakibara was walking behind them with Himuro, Kagami's brother, and Midorima was with Takao, who seemed to be just as excited to see them.

"Nijimura-senpai!?" Aomine and Kise exclaimed because they haven't seen their senior in forever.

"Is everyone surprised to see me?" Nijimura asked nervously but was tackled into a hug regardless.

"Of course, we haven't seen you in such a long time nanodayo." Midorima told him while Nijimura was fighting off the tall teenagers. Tetsumi laughed softly at them before looking over at Seika. Her sister seemed to be so relaxed now that Emari was gone and Nijimura was back in her life.

"Is there something you would like to tell me, Tetsumi?" Seika asked her once she noticed that her sister was staring at her. Tetsumi blushed a little before she hugged the red head girl tightly.

"I'm so glad that you're my sister, Sei-kun. I don't know what I would do without you."

"Kuro-chin, that's so sweet." Murasakibara commented as a smile broke out on Seika's face.

"I can say the same thing to you, my dear sister."

"Group hug!" Kise yelled as she tackled the siblings. Tetsumi thought that Seika was going to immediately pull away but instead she laughed. The others took that as their cue to join in on the hug including Nijimura while the Miracles' significant others watched them with found smiles.

"I take it they've been through a lot?" Takao asked Kagami and Himuro. Kagami just nodded his head.

"You have no idea."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AGAIN, I REALLY WANNA APOLOGIZE FOR THIS BEING SO DELAYED! I NEVER THOUGHT I WOULD GO ON SUCH A LONG HIATUS. BUT AS YOU CAN TELL IM BACK. SO SORRY EVERYONE READING THIS. ITS BEEN LIKE TWO YEARS!


End file.
